Thomas & Friends The Untold Stories
by ThomasZoey3000
Summary: All new stories written by me.
1. The New Girl in the Yards

**Hello there readers, it's ThomasZoey3000 here with some new stories, some of these are adaptations of the original Thomas stories I wrote up before and others are brand new. Be prepared to meet some new friends along the way and experience more adventures that are waiting just down the tracks. Enjoy!**

_**The New Girl in the Yards**_

It had been a busy day on the Island of Sodor, seven of the Fat Controller's engines were resting in the sheds after a hard day's work. They were enjoying the piece and quiet, until they heard someone complaining loudly - namely Gordon.

"I'm overworked," he grumbled, "Pulling the express is okay, but it's all the extra shunting that is wearing me out."

"Oh, quit complain'," grumbled Donald, "you dinna do that much wurk. Douggie and I do mure of the shuntin' than yoo, James or Henry."

"Even Edward does mure than yoo," added Douglas.

"Even so," commented Emily, "it would be nice to have a little extra help around here until the workload's start to go down."

"Aye," said Donald, "and quickly too."

"It makes no difference to me at all," sniffed Gordon to himself.

"As long as the engine is not a snooty diesel engine, then we're fine," James said out loud.

The engines all told James to 'be quiet!', they all knew that he, Gordon and Henry can often be a little rude to new comers, especially visitors.

The next day, Emily was puffing into Knapford station with her passenger train when she and her crew saw an engine they had never seen before. It was a small light green tank engine with six small wheels and two back wheels behind. She had a very tall funnel, a curved roof over the cab and a couple of big water tanks.

She also had the letters L.H. & J.C. on the sides of her tanks and below her coal bunker was the number 29.

"Hello there," the engine said, "I'm very pleased to meet you, what's your name?"

"I'm Emily," she answered, "Who are you?"

"My name is Koyuki, I'm an english style engine with a japanese name."

Emily was impressed, then she saw the Fat Controller talking to a man in a suit, "Ah Emily!" he said, "I see you've met Koyuki, she will be visiting us for a while."

"While I'm on a vacation," said the man, then he looked over to Koyuki, "now my dear little engine, it's time for me to go. Now remember, make lots of friends and do your best."

"I will, daddy."

"Daddy?" asked Emily, she was surprised.

"Oh yes, you see my manager is like a father to me, so that's why I call him daddy."

"Sir," Emily called to Koyuki's manager, "what kind of railroad do you operate?"

"I run a private line in the states. It starts from our house, then goes down a small line till we reach the main line, then we give the people tours of the town."

"You see Emily," said the Fat Controller, joining in on the conversation, "They live in a small town where there's lots of history. Koyuki's manager has gotten special permission from the local railroad to operate special tours, since it is mostly a goods line."

"And now after working all that time, I'm going off on a small trip and since I don't want Koyuki to be bored, I asked Sir Topham Hatt if I could loan him Koyuki until I get back..."

"And I have agreed," finished the Fat Controller.

"Now Koyuki, my sweet little engine," said her manager, "I'm ready to go, have a good time okay?"

"Yes sir," she smiled.

The manager smiled and gave Koyuki a small pat on the boiler, then he walked off to catch a bus to the airport.

"Now Emily," said the Fat Controller, "please give Koyuki a tour of our shunting yards."

"Yes sir," she smiled.

Once she was uncoupled from her coaches, she and Koyuki hurried off for the shunting yards.

It didn't take long for Emily to show Koyuki around the yards and introduce her to Rosie and Charlie who were shunting the other trucks around the yards.

"Remember to give them a good bump," said Charlie, "otherwise the silly trucks will start acting up."

"And don't listen to a single word to what they say," added Rosie.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine Koyuki," smiled Emily, "well I better be off, I need to take a goods train to Brendom docks."

For the rest of the afternoon, Charlie and Rosie would biff their trucks around the yards, while Koyuki shunted in a different way.

"Come along sweeties," she said kindly, "we need to stay to time, please be kind."

The trucks were surprised, no engine, apart from Edward, Donald and Douglas were ever kind to them before. They were impressed and agreed not to play tricks on Koyuki.

"Don't bump her, don't bump her," they all said to each other.

"Be kind to her, be kind to her."

At the end of the day, she pulled into Tidmouth sheds, feeling mighty proud of all the hard work she had done. Most of the other engines all give her a wonderful welcome as she came puffing into the sheds, well - all except for Gordon.

"She's only a girl," sniffed Gordon, "she's not a strong engine like yours truely."

"Hey!" this came from an angry Emily, "if you recall Gordon, I once pulled your express not once but twice! Girls are just as strong as boy engines."

"If my memory serves me right, you left the brake coach behind and James had to come collect you after you ran out of water."

"You were saying Emily," snickered James.

"Leave the engines alone," this came from Henry, who was angry over the engine's rude behaviour, "it shouldn't matter if we're a boy engine or girl engine, we're all useful."

Gordon and James however, were still refusing to listen and still believed that girl engines weren't as strong as boy engines.

"Don't listen to them," Emily whispered to Koyuki, "it's just the way they are."

"I understand," she sighed, "I've seen that many times before on the many lines I have visited. Some engines are really kind, like you and Henry, and there are others like Gordon and James, who aren't so kind."

"Please tell me that they are put in their place before you go home."

"Yep, they always do."

"Good," chuckled Emily, "then before long, you might just have your chance to prove to those big engines how useful you are."

Koyuki smiled, agreeing with Emily.

The next day was a little cloudy, but still Koyuki was enjoying the nice warm summer weather. Today she was to take some visitors to visit Crovan's Gate station, then come back to collect a goods train to Brendom.

While she was having a good day, James certainly was not.

"Shunting! Shunting!" he grumbled, "why is a splendid red engine like me shunting trucks."

The trucks just giggled in their silly way, until James gave them a rudeful bump. Now they were annoyed with James and were now more determined than ever to teach him a lesson.

However, they weren't going to get to back at James. A couple of hours later, Koyuki came back to collect the trucks and take them away. The trucks at the far end of the train couldn't see the engine very well at all, they thought she was James.

"We'll get him," they thought.

What was worst, a thick fog had started to come down, so that made the trucks think for sure that James was pulling them.

"Bump him past the hill, bump him past the hill!" they snickered to each other.

The front trucks heard nothing as Koyuki started off down the line with her goods train.

They were soon making excellent timing, and as they puffed along down the line, Koyuki hummed out a little tune to herself. As she hummed, she didn't hear the trucks from the rear end of they came to the hill.

"Get ready! Get ready!" they shouted.

"Get ready for what?" asked the front trucks.

They were due to find out - as they reached the top, it happened - "ON! ON! ON!" shouted the back trucks. They started to push into each other and made Koyuki roll down the hill in dangerous speeds, she was terrified.

"Stop! Please! Stop!" she cried.

The Driver slammed on the brakes, but they were useless aganist the surging trucks.

"Stop pushing!" shouted the front trucks, "it's not James! It's Koyuki!"

At first the trucks at the tail end didn't hear and continued to push. Poor Koyuki was scared as she rolled down the line towards the docks. Then at last the trucks heard her loud whistle.

"That's not James' whistle!" cried one of the tail end trucks, "that sounds like...Koyuki!"

"Hold back! Hold back!" they shouted.

They held back as much as they could, the brakes screeching wildly on the rails. Thankfully with the trucks holding back, Koyuki came to a stop and thankfully she did, as Salty the dockside diesel was on the same line as her. Koyuki had stopped with a few inches away from Salty's buffers.

"Whoa!" cried Salty, "that was too close, wasn't it, lass?"

"It was," she sighed.

Koyuki carefully shunted the trucks into place, very carefully.

"Why did you push me?"

"We thought you were James," said the back trucks, "we're sorry Koyuki, if we knew it was you, we wouldn't have bumped you."

"James might think that we're stupid, but we're not. We know which engine not to biff and bash and you are not one of those engines."

"Can I give you dears some advice?" the trucks agreed, "just do your best to ignore those engines that biff and bash you, then you there won't be any future accidents."

With that, Koyuki puffed off to collect some more trucks. The other trucks she had brought, all whispered to one another and promised to give her advice a try, hopefully it will work.


	2. James and the Flocking Birds

_**James and the Flocking Birds**_

When Gordon and James heard about the near miss incident, they took it upon themselves to make their points clear.

"I had a strong feeling that she would make a mistake," huffed Gordon, "this has proven our points that girl engines just can't handle their trains like we can."

"I agree," said James, "I mean I would never have trouble with trucks."

"You would so," snorted Henry angerily, "as I recall that you have had multiple accidents and incidents with trucks. Take for example, your accident with the tar wagons."

"Or the queen of Sodor incident," added Emily, she was annoyed by the big engine's insults to Koyuki.

"Nobody's perfect," said Edward, "you should know that Gordon."

Gordon and James both just scoffed, but didn't apologize for their rude behaviour. Koyuki was a bit sad, but she was determined not to show them how sad she was.

"I just need some time to show them how useful I am," she thought to herself, "I'll show them. I'll show them."

The next morning, Koyuki was doing her shunting duties at Knapford yards, when she heard some loud noises from above her. She looked up and saw lots and lots of birds.

"Now that's a lot of birds," said her Driver, "I've never seen that many birds at one time, what about you old girl?"

"Nope, I've never seen that many before."

The yard manager than came up to speak with Koyuki and her crew, "I'm sorry to be bugging you, but I need you to take a train of hay bales to Farmer Trotter's farm. I would ask one of the other engines, but they are a little busy with their own jobs."

"We'll be glad to help with this job," said Koyuki, "if it's okay with you Driver."

"It's alright with me, but we should probably check with the Fat Controller first before we go."

So he phoned the Fat Controller, who agreed. Once the arrangments were in place, Koyuki backed down onto her train sweetly and puffed off to Farmer Trotter's farm.

As she puffed along smoothly down the line, Koyuki hummed a little tune to herself. All was going well, until she saw something up ahead on the line.

"What's that?" asked the fireman.

"Well bless me," gasped the Driver, "it's a flock of birds!"

The Driver slowed the train down softly as they stopped a few feet away from the birds.

"It's those same birds we saw in the yards earlier," groaned Koyuki, "what are they doing here?"

"I don't know girl," said the Driver, "but we do need to get them off the line or we're going to be late delivering this load to Farmer Trotter."

The Driver grabbed a hold of the whistle cord and blew Koyuki's whistle loud and long. It took several attempts, but at last the birds were scared away and flew to the trees.

"That worked," chuckled the fireman, "now let's get going."

They soon arrived at Farmer Trotter's farm, "sorry for being late," said Koyuki, trying to get her breath back, "but we had to deal with some flocking birds."

"I've heard about those birds," said the farmer, "it's becoming a bit of a problem every time spring rolls around."

"You mean they've done this before?" asked the driver.

"Indeed they have. Many times they have delayed trains that travel on the line or any other line."

Farmer Trotter and his men got to work in removing all the hay bales off the flatbed, then took them off to the barn. When the job was done, he came out to thank Koyuki and her crew for the delivery.

"Always glad to be of some help," smiled Koyuki.

Then they all heard some frantic whistling - it sounded like James' whistle.

"I wonder what's going on this time," said the fireman.

"Better go see and find out for ourselves," said the Driver.

Koyuki and her crew didn't have that far to look, as they found James being surronded by the birds Koyuki had 'shooed' away.

"Feathery pests," muttered James, "why can't you just fly away and leave me alone? I need to get these passengers to their destinations!"

The birds however were not listening to a single word to James, they were too busy flying around him. Then came a big surprise - as the birds flew down and landed on James' buffers, railings, the roof of his cab and everywhere else, other then his boiler.

"Oh," he groaned, "GET OFF!"

James' Driver blew the whistle, but the birds didn't move.

"I'm thinking that they think that your whistle sounds like a bird," chuckled James' fireman.

"Oh how funny," said James sarcastically, "now do something to get them off of me!"

The Driver and fireman got out and tried to 'shoo' them away, but that didn't work. Then they tried to blow steam, but still the birds didn't go away.

"Fine," huffed James, "I'm going and if you birds want to stay on me, then you better..."

James was suddenly interupted by another whistle - it was Koyuki's. She was blowing it loud and long. The birds were once again scared of the whistle and flew away back to the trees.

James was amazed, "you sure have a big whistle," he said, "not bad for a..." but he stopped himself.

"For a girl?" asked Koyuki.

Then she puffed away without another word. James was speechless and remained quiet as they started away for their destination.

"Maybe I was wrong about Koyuki and her usefulness," he thought to himself, "I guess it wouldn't be the first time really."

James kept thinking about his rash choices, even when he got back to Knapford station. It was then, it happened for the second time that day, James was surronded by the birds.

"Go away!" he shouted, "I don't need to be bothered by you pests again!"

The birds however weren't listening as they flew down and landed on James again. Still he pulled into the station to allow the passengers out, but even in motion, the birds didn't go away.

"If I could blow my whistle I would," he groaned.

"We can't James," said his Driver, "not unless you want to upset the passengers."

James grumbled unhappily, as the birds stayed where they were and made their own noises. He waited for a grand total of five minutes, before the guard had blown his whistle and he was finally ready to go.

"Blow hard!" cried James, "I want these pests off me!"

The Driver blew the whistle loud and long, but that didn't do any good. The birds stayed where they were.

"Now what are we going to do?" grumbled James, "or am I going to be a bird post for these birds?"

Before the Driver could reply back, they heard Koyuki's loud whistle once again. The Driver blew the whistle in the same way and before long, the birds were scared away and flew away.

"Well that's one way to get rid of them," chuckled the fireman.

"And it's all thanks to that visiting engine," added the Driver.

"Yes, it's thanks to Koyuki," said James quietly.

James was soon brought back to the sheds after a long day, he was still thinking about Koyuki.

"She's helped me out - twice today and yet, she could have simply ignored me and left me in my predicaments."

As he puffing into the sheds, he saw her in the berth next to him.

"Listen Koyuki, I'm sorry that I was rude to you. Sometimes I do go a little too far with my insults and I don't know when I have gone too far."

"It's okay James," she smiled, "but I have to ask, what made you change your mind?"

"Well...after you helped me today. If you hadn't helped scared those birds away, I would have become 'James the Bird's Nest' instead of being myself. So...thank you."

"You're very welcome."

The two engines went silent for a while, that was until Koyuki spoke up.

"I have always been painted in green paint, but I've always liked the color red."

James was surprised, "do you really like red?"

"Yes, It's always been my favourite color. Although I never thought that I would get the chance to see an engine with red paint, till I saw you with your splendid red paint."

James was so impressed by Koyuki's comments that he started to blush as red as his paintwork.

"Well I...like my red paint, I was orginally black before I came to Sodor, but I soon got my repaint after I came here. I wouldn't want to be any other color."

"I'm glad for that, you deserve to be red."

James felt very honored by this. He knew now that he was going to have a few words for Gordon later on, but first things first, he decided to tell Koyuki some of his stories.

I'm happy to say that now, both Koyuki and James are indeed good friends. Still there's the matter of getting Gordon to reconize how useful she can be, but that's for another story.


	3. Spring Dance

_**Spring Dance**_

Koyuki continued with her shunting duties as the days went by, she was having a fantastic time. The trucks all respected her and so did some of the engines, except for Gordon.

"Shunting is shunting," he said that one night in the sheds, "it's not as important as the express, hence why the Fat Controller gave the girl that duty."

"Oh shut up," snapped James, "you haven't even given her a chance to prove herself!"

"I don't need to, I know she's not as strong as me."

"I sure would like to see you say that again after Koyuki comes to your rescue," said Emily crossly.

"Pah!" sniffed Gordon, "I'll only believe that when I see that. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go collect the late night express."

Poor Koyuki felt terrible as she watched Gordon race out of the sheds.

"Never mind him Koyuki," said Emily kindly, "it usually takes Gordon a long time to accept someone new."

"That's true," chuckled James, "usually right after he has a little accident of his own and the new comer comes along and helps him. You can relax easy knowing it's not just you."

"I guess so," sighed the little engine unhappily.

The following morning, the Fat Controller arrived at the sheds with some important news for Gordon.

"Tonight you are to take passengers to the Wellsworth spring dance, Henry will take care of your late express for you."

"Yes sir," said Gordon proudly.

The spring dance train was a special train that came around only once a year. One engine would be sent to collect passengers from Knapford station and other stations along the line till they reach Wellsworth, then the engine stays there until the party is over. The engine never minds as they can see all the excitment from a siding.

Usually Edward would collect the passengers, but this year he was too busy to take the train.

"I shall look grand pulling into Wellsworth with the spring dance train," he boasted proudly to the other engines.

None of the other engines took any notice of Gordon, they had heard his boastful attitude many times before. Gordon huffed crossly away to find his coaches.

Charlie had already arranged his coaches into the station, while Koyuki continued her shunting duties.

Koyuki was just moving some trucks around when Gordon came out of nowhere and 'wheesed' some steam in her face.

"How rude!" gasped Charlie, he had seen everything.

Poor Koyuki just felt sad.

When Henry came along, he saw how sad Koyuki was and decided to ask her what was wrong.

"It's Gordon," she said sadly, "he whoosed me with some steam earlier. I know I should just give him some time to get used to having me around in the yards, but..." she started to cry, "it's just so unfair that he treats me this way."

Henry felt sorry for the little tank engine and decided to have a little chat with Gordon.

It was soon mid-afternoon when Henry was finally going to get his chance. Gordon's tender was being filled up with water and he was waiting patiently for his crew to finish. Henry was just coming into the yards with some flatbeds full of logs.

"I heard you were being horrid to Koyuki," he was saying, "why are you being so horrible to her?"

"Because she's a girl," Gordon sniffed, "she, like all the other girly engines can't do the jobs we do."

"That's going too far Gordon," Henry was beginning to lose his patience, "girl engines can be just as useful as boy engines."

"Oh really, then explain to me why did Emily leave the brake coach behind when she got the express?"

"She was probably feeling nervous, plus you were making her think she had to do better."

"Alright then, but about when Molly came to the Island, she only got to pull empty trucks."

"Those were important trucks for the late night trains. I should know as I was one of those engines who pulled those trains."

"I will admit," said another voice, it was James as he was waiting to have his tender filled, "that girl engines do get themselves into some crazy incidents, but that can also be said about us boy engines."

"James is right you know," said Henry's Driver.

"I'm surprised to hear you talking about being reliable," said Henry, "after all, you were the engine who fell down a dirty ditch and flew off the tracks with a goods train."

"Or crashing into a train of jam wagons," chuckled James quietly.

"Shut up!" sniffed Gordon crossly, he really didn't like being made fun of.

Finally his tender was filled to the top with water and he puffed away to collect the next express train.

"That Gordon," grumbled James as he puffed up to the tower, "sometimes I swear that he doesn't think before he speaks."

Henry sighed unhappily in agreeing with James, then he puffed away with his train of logs.

Gordon finished his express runs in record timing and was finally ready to go collect the 'spring dance' special. Charlie had already arranged the coaches to the platform and the passengers were already starting to board.

Gordon's Driver backed the mighty blue engine onto the coaches carefully.

"I'll give these people the best run of a lifetime," smiled Gordon to himself, "that'll be one in the headlamp to Henry, James and those girl engines."

As soon as the passengers were on board the train, the guard blew his whistle and the train set out on it's way to the next station.

All went well as Gordon collected the passengers from all the stations and was running along smoothly down the line.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" he puffed to the coaches.

The coaches chattered happily to each other, they were having fun. I'm sorry to say that the fun was about to come to a complete stop.

They were now doing 70, when Gordon's fireman heard some faint rattling.

"Is something loose?" he asked the Driver.

"Not that I can think of."

Gordon's Driver looked out of the cab window and soon discovered the trouble, something had come loose and was dangling on Gordon's siderods. Upon seeing this, Gordon's Driver applied the brakes as quickly as he could and the whole train came to a stop.

"What's going on?" asked Gordon, "why did we stop?"

The Driver didn't answer, he just got down and looked at the loose object.

"It's hard to believe," he said, "but one of your steel rim tires has come loose."

All engines have something on their wheels called a 'tire', these are used to prevent any damage to the wheels and prevent them from wearing down. One of the tires on Gordon had come loose and now was hanging by his siderod.

"How is that possible?" asked the fireman.

"I don't know," sighed the Driver unhappily, "but with that tire loose, we're going nowhere."

"But what about the passengers?" asked Gordon.

"We'll have to phone for help. I did see a signalbox a short while back."

So the Driver went off back to the signalbox, while the fireman informed the guard and the passengers of the situation.

In about twenty minutes, they finally heard the sound of an engine coming along.

"If it's James or Henry, they'll never let me hear the end of it," grumbled Gordon.

He stopped grumbling when he heard an unfamilar whistle - it was Koyuki's loud whistle. She rolled up alongside the big blue engine, who only stared at her with an angry look.

"Look," Koyuki began, "I know you might think that girl engines are not as useful as you boy engines and I won't able to take the passengers on my own, but I'm going to show you that I can. Another engine will come for you in a while, just wait ten minutes."

Gordon didn't say anything. Gordon's fireman uncoupled the coaches, then he changed the points for Koyuki. Once she was coupled onto the train, she puffed on her way to Wellsworth, without saying a single word to Gordon.

They arrived a few minutes late, but the passengers didn't mind at all. They were pleased and thanked Koyuki and her crew for coming to their aid.

As a special reward, Koyuki was given the chance to stay and watch the 'Spring Dance', then take the passengers home later.

Everyone was having a wonderful time as live bands performed their songs and the people danced. Koyuki thought it looked like great fun.

"We don't have something like this back home," she said to her Driver, "it's glorious."

"I agree with you my engine," he smiled, "it sure looks like a lot of fun. Maybe we should suggest to the manager that we should try something like this back home."

"I think everyone would love that idea," smiled the little engine and she blew her happy whistle, loud and long.

As for Gordon, he was towed to the works by BoCo. The big blue engine didn't say very much at all, in fact he said nothing at all, he was starting to have doubts about his harsh words to Koyuki and the other girl engines of Sodor.

"Was I wrong?" he asked himself, "was I just trying to be a show-off again?"

"Is something bothering you Gordon?" asked BoCo, "I can hear you muttering back there."

"Oh, nothing's wrong BoCo...nothing's wrong at all."

"Are you sure, cause if something is bothing you, we can always talk about it."

"No, no, I'm okay."

Secertly though, Gordon knew that he had alot to think about and would have the perfect chance at the Sodor Steamworks.

**Author's Note:**

Gordon's 'tire' incident is based on the real life incident of a B&O National Ltd. The train was travelling along at around 70 miles per hour between Baltimore and Washington when one of the tires came off it's wheel and dangled on the side-rods. The engineer was able to carefully stop the train without any further incident, the date of the incident is unknown.


	4. Oh Deer!

_**Oh Deer!**_

While Gordon was away at the works, Henry, James and BoCo often took in turns to pull the express, while Koyuki went to work in BoCo's place on Edward's Branch Line. She liked working with Edward and would quite often impress him with her shunting skills and kindess with the trucks.

"Very well done Koyuki," smiled Edward, "not many engines can keep the trucks in order, I'm glad to see an engine show the trucks some respect."

"Well it's like the old saying goes 'you show respect, you get respect back'."

"It's the first thing everyone learns," Edward happily agreed with her.

Even though she was working on Edward's branch line on occasion, she was still working as a shunting engine and station pilot.

"How do you do it?" James asked one night, "you always do all those jobs and more and yet you're never tired at all. Don't you sleep at night?"

"Of course I do," Koyuki giggled, "it's no secret really, I just try hard not to push myself over my limits."

"Maybe you could learn from Koyuki," Henry chuckled as he looked over to James.

Instead of shooting a dirty look at Henry, James smiled and agreed, which came as a surprise to some of the other engines.

"You might want to be careful though," James continued, "when Gordon comes back from the works, he's going to be in a real foul mood."

"Sad to say it's true," groaned Emily.

"I don't think he'll be seeing me that much," said Koyuki, "my manager is going to be coming back next week, which means I'll be going home."

"Do you really have to go?" asked Rosie, "we've really enjoyed having you around in the yards."

"We've really enjoyed your company," added Charlie.

"Well I've enjoyed being with you lovely engines too, but all good things do come to an end and I do have to go home. Besides when I get home, I'll be sure to tell all my friends all about you and your lines. That's a promise."

This of course made the engines feel a little better, but they were still a little sad that they'll have to say good-bye to her in a week.

On the day before her manager was due to return, Koyuki was sent to work on Edward's branch line as BoCo was pulling the express.

"Gordon's due to come back tonight," the stationmaster said to Koyuki's crew, "I just wonder why they took this long to send him back."

"Must be for lots of reasons," said the fireman, "maybe the other wheel's tires were going to fall off, I don't know."

"It'll be nice to have him back," agreed Koyuki, deep down though, the little green tank engine was feeling upset and remembered the warning she got from Henry and Emily about Gordon's foul mood.

Then they heard the guard's whistle and with a small 'peep-peep', Koyuki steamed out of the station and down the line to the china clay harbour.

When she arrived, she shunted her trucks into the sidings and then moved over to another siding to collect her loaded trucks. Bill and Ben had brought them to the yards a short while ago, but they had hidden a couple of the trucks.

"Now what are we going to do?" Koyuki asked her Driver.

"Don't worry," called one of the trucks, "we know where Bill and Ben left the other trucks, we'll tell you where they took them."

"Thank you dear trucks."

The trucks told Koyuki to back them up until they found the trucks in a couple of sidings. Her fireman coupled the trucks up to the train, then they set off back to the yards at Wellsworth.

At first, the journey was going well. Koyuki was enjoying the run as the wind blew across her funnel, she was having a great time, until she felt her brakes come on with a slight groan.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"We have a little problem," said her Driver, "it's a family of deer!"

Sure enough, there were four deers on the rails ahead, they were eating and didn't want to move. Koyuki came to a stop with a bit of distance from the deer family.

"We're going to be late," groaned Koyuki, "Gordon will never let me hear the end of this."

"Never you mind about Gordon," said the fireman, "what we need to do is to 'shoo' these deer off the line."

Both the Driver and fireman climbed down and tried to 'shoo' the deer family away, but they wouldn't move. They just continued to eat the grass and took no notice of the crew.

"Well that didn't work," groaned the Driver, "guess we'll have to blow the whistle and scare them away."

So the Driver walked back over to the cab and pulled the whistle cord, but that didn't work at all. The deer family wouldn't move, it was as if they weren't paying to Koyuki.

"That's torn it," grumbled the fireman, as he climbed into the cab, "now what are we going to do?"

For a while, nobody could think of anything, until at last Koyuki came up with something.

"Why not move forward slowly and blow the whistle in a steady way, that should work."

"Anything's worth a try," said the Driver.

So the Driver opened the regulator slowly and blew the whistle in a nice steady way. By now, the deer had finished eating and were now finally paying attention to Koyuki and started to run down the line.

"It's working," said the fireman, looking out the window, "but they are still on the line."

"Then we'll have to keep going," puffed Koyuki, "until they finally get off the tracks."

The deer family ran on for a short while down Koyuki's line until they finally jumped off the line ran off to find a place to sleep.

"Now let's make up for lost time," said the Driver.

He opened the regulator even more and Koyuki started to pick up speed down the line towards Wellsworth.

She arrived five minutes late, but after her crew explained of what had happened, all was forgiven.

"I bet Gordon won't be so forgiving," thought Koyuki to herself, "he's going to go on about how girl engines keep far behind their own timetables."

Koyuki continued to think about what Gordon's actual words to her were going to be, while she shunted the trucks around in the yards.

After the long day, Koyuki puffed back to the sheds light engine. As she pulled into the engine berth, there standing in the berth next to her was Gordon.

"Look Gordon, I know you would've prefered the help of a boy engine, but I was the only engine in the yards that could help you..."

"I know," he said with a kinder tone in his voice, "I was wrong to say all those things to you and other female engines on the Island, you're not weak little engines, you're as strong as us male engines and quite helpful too I might add. I did go too far with my behaviour, I'm sorry for that."

"Well thank you Gordon, that means a lot coming from you."

Gordon started to blush, "I know I've been a stupid engine, but I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course I can, I don't hold grudges aganist engines."

Gordon smiled and as the night wore on and some of the other engines came in for a good night's rest, Koyuki told them all about her day dealing with the deer family.

"Strange you should mention the deer family," said Gordon.

"Have you seen them Gordon?" asked Duck.

"Oh I've seen them alright, they came across my line as I was coming back from the works. My driver blew the whistle in a steady way and we puffed slowly along, while the deer family ran along the rails."

"I guess great minds think alike," smiled Koyuki.

"Why were you in the works for so long Gordon?" asked James.

"Well it was because of all the tires on my wheels, they were all loose, so they had to take my wheels off and replace the tires, plus those workmen had damaged my siderods, so they had to wait a week for them to arrive."

"Well it is good to have you back," smiled Koyuki, "we all missed you alot."

"I'm glad to be back."

"Good thing too," called out James, "cause Koyuki is going home tomorrow."

"Is it true?"

"It is," answered the little green tank engine.

The next day, she told her manager all about her exicting trip. He was proud of his little engine and was now ready to take her to the docks, ready for the journey home.

"Good-bye Koyuki!" called the engines of the sheds, "come back and see us soon!"

"Don't worry my friends, I will! I will never forget about my 'deery' friends." Everyone laughed at her little joke, "seriously though, I will come back someday and you're more than welcome to visit me too!"

Then with a cheerful blast of her whistle, Koyuki and her manager puffed away, but not before they heard a loud chrous of whistles from the engines.

Not surprising, Gordon's whistle was the loudest of all, I think he's going to miss her more than anyone else, what do you think?

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on the real life event that happened on the Canadian National railway. On March 30th 2008, the crew were taking a train through a little neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when they spotted a family of four deer on the line. Using the brakes and the dinging of the bell, the crew were able to chase the deer family down the line where they ran off unharmed.


	5. No White Christmas?

_**No White Christmas?**_

It was December, but there was no snow on the ground. Nobody really minded at all, cause they all knew that Christmas was on it's way. Both the main line and the branch line engines were doing their best with taking passengers to where they need to go, hauling goods trains to it's proper desinations or even shunting in the yards.

The engines didn't mind the large amount of work, they were enjoying themselves, especially Rosie. Although she had to do most of the shunting work, she never complained and did the best she could. As she worked in the yards, Rosie would sing Christmas carols and surprising enough, so did the trucks, which made the work alot easier.

Diesel however complained bitterly about his shunting work, he would often take his temper out on the other engines. They all ignored him as best as they could.

"I don't want to shunt trucks anymore," he growled to himself, "I want to pull real festive trains!"

"Not with that attitude you're not," said his Driver firmly, "it's because of your attitude that the Fat Controller isn't going to let you take those types of trains."

Diesel just snarled, then he noticed Rosie puffing into the yards with a train of decorations for Knapford, which made him even more cross.

"GRRRRR!" he growled and rumbled away to shunt more trucks.

Later on that day, Diesel was bringing some trucks to the yards, he could hear Rosie singing her carols and he had had enough! He was going to ruin her cheerful spirit.

"Will you please stop singing?"

"Why?" Rosie asked curiously, "this is the time of the year for carols."

"Not if there's no snow."

"What do you mean?"

This is when Diesel put his devious idea into action, "people usually celebrate christmas when there's snow, so when there's no snow, there's no Christmas."

"Really?"

"Yes, so I suggest you stop singing carols until the snow comes...that is, if it ever comes."

Diesel chuckled quietly to himself as he rumbled out of the station, leaving Rosie with a terrible feeling in her boiler.

"No snow means no christmas," he groaned to herself, then she looked looked up to the sky, there were no snow clouds to be seen, "but Christmas has to come, people will be disappointed if it doesn't. I need to bring the snow to Sodor, someway...somehow."

But she didn't know how.

The next day, Rosie awoke to find no snow on the ground, this made her worry even more.

"I need to find a way to bring the snow to Sodor," she said to herself.

"What was that Rosie?" asked her Driver.

"Oh nothing," she said, "nothing at all."

Her Driver suspected nothing and so he opened the regulator and Rosie puffed away to begin her day's work.

Rosie's first job that day was to take some cream to the Ice Cream factory. She collected the trucks from Knapford and arrived, on time.

"Well done Rosie," said the factory manager, "we needed that cream to make more ice cream, you really are a helpful and useful engine."

"Thank you," she smiled, then she noticed a truck full of ice shavings, "what are you going to do with those ice shavings?"

"We're just going to leave it there, the sun will melt the shavings into water, then we'll send the trucks away."

"How about if I take the trucks away for you, that way you'll have more room in your sidings."

The factory manager thought about it for a minute, "alright then Rosie, you can take those trucks away. Just be careful with them okay, they can be in a foul mood with cold ice shaving in them."

"I'll be careful."

Rosie was switched over to the sidings where the trucks were waiting, then after being coupled up, Rosie puffed her way back to Knapford. Thankfully the trucks didn't try any of their trucks, as they were too cold and stiff to think of any devious tricks.

When she arrived at Knapford, she asked the workmen to place the shavings of ice on the platform and around the station.

"It's the Fat Controller's order, he wants the station to decorated for the winter holidays."

The workers suspected nothing at all, they weren't enterily sure about this plan, but they knew better than to go aganist the Fat Controller's orders, so they went to work. They took more than dozens of shavings from the trucks and placed it everywhere.

"The station looks fantastic," smiled Rosie, "now Christmas will come."

Rosie and her crew then went on their way to collect milk tankers for the dairy. No sooner was she out of sight, then trouble came onto the platform, some of the passengers stepped over the snow shavings and slipped on it.

"What's going on here?" one of the passengers asked, "why is the station covered in snow?"

"Especially when there's no snow outside of the station," said one of the other passengers.

"It was the Fat Controller's orders," said one of the workers.

"I gave no order," said a familar voice, it was the Fat Controller. He had just walked out of his office and slipped into a stationmaster's cart, thankfully he was able to prevent himself from falling.

"Rosie said that you said that you wanted the ice shavings all over the station."

"She did, did she? That's not like Rosie at all. I'm going to have a little talk with her later...first though, clear the platforms of all this ice shavings!"

And so the workers went to work in removing all the ice until all that was left, was puddles of water.

Rosie in the meanwhile puffed off to the dairy with the milk tankers with five minutes to spare, "it's no wonder why you're known as a fast engine," said the dairy manager, "you have done a good job Rosie."

"Thank you sir," then she noticed a couple of boxes full of tinsel, "are those your christmas decorations?"

"A little bit yes, but we're actually overstocked with decorations. We don't need these at all."

"Do you mind if we could take those decorations?"

"Sure you can," smiled the manager.

He picked up the two boxes and brought it over to Rosie's cab, handing it to Rosie's crew. Then they set off back to Knapford station.

"This is really going to make the big station look festive," thought Rosie happily to herself.

When she pulled back into the station, Rosie was shocked to see all the ice shavings gone from the platforms and the Fat Controller was standing near by.

"Alright Rosie," he said sternly, "I want to know why you have been doing this, you're never one to lie and cause trouble on the platforms."

"Did I really cause trouble?"

"You did, passengers were slipping on the ice shavings when I came out of my office and now I want you to tell me why you told those workers to spread the shavings all around the station."

Rosie sighed deeply and told the Fat Controller all Diesel had to said to her.

"He told me that without snow, there would be no christmas, so that's why I brought all those ice shavings to Knapford."

Rosie was expecting the Fat Controller to yell at her, but he didn't, instead he just smiled.

"Rosie, Diesel was just trying to trick you, there will always be a Christmas, snow or no snow. We've had a few christmas' where we didn't have snow, but you know what, we always celebrate it."

"So...Christmas will come sir?"

"Of course it will," then he added, "when Diesel says things like that, it's better not to listen to what he is saying. Also, if he says anything else that is bothering you, come to me and tell me about it."

"I will sir."

Rosie felt better right away and quickly apologized for the incident with the snow shavings, then she told the Fat Controller about the decorations.

"I was wondering if we could use them here."

"I think that would be a good idea Rosie."

"We've been needing some new decorations anyways," said the stationmaster, "thanks for bringing them Rosie."

Rosie just beamed happily.

Before long, the station was decorated with what Rosie brought and would you believe that the very next day after the station was finished being decorated, it snowed!

"It snowed! We're going to have a white Christmas!" cheered Rosie as she raced into Knapford.

As for Diesel, the Fat Controller spoke to him about telling lies to other engines. Let's just say that the Fat Controller promised that if Diesel misbehaved again, he was sure to get coal in his stocking. Diesel dreads the idea of that, but we know the Fat Controller is just trying to teach him a lesson, right?


	6. Snow Engines

_**Snow Engines**_

With the snow on the ground, this meant either less or more work on Duck and Oliver's Little Western line, there were only a few ballast requests during the week, goods were taken to the villages twice a day and four to five passenger trains ran up and down the line.

There was one part of the line Oliver liked passing, it was a tiny little mountain village. He could well remember the one year when he crashed into a set of buffers and smashed into the snowman, then he had to spend the night de-railed. Oliver didn't like that, but he feels like the accident and waiting was worth it when he saw the festival and got to be the snow engine.

"It was so wonderful," he smiled, "it's like Toad said all along, there are some magicial things about snow."

"Och, we knaw yoo feel Oliver," said Douglas, "winter is oor favourite time of year."

"The only problem with winter," said Duck, "is the ice on the rails, I mean if you look at happened to Henry, ice had frozen his points and snow had forced the signal down."

"Aye," agreed Donald, "but it helped yon Henry mure than yoo think."

"From what Edward has said," added Oliver, "it's because of his accident that Henry got his new shape."

"Okay then, that's a good thing. But what about what happened with James and Edward during their coal run a few years back?"

"It's all James' fault," said Douglas, "he went too fast for yon good."

"Ice and snow can cause problems Duck," said Oliver, "but mind you, it can be a good thing when all is said and done. There are some good moments and others that are not so good."

There was no more said about the snow and ice, although Duck still had his doubts about the usefulness of ice and snow.

One morning, Duck's Driver and fireman arrived for work with scarves and thick heavy winter coats on, "brr," shivered the Driver, "it's mighty cold out there."

"I can agree with you there," said the fireman, "I can't wait to get Duck fired up."

Duck agreed with him, he could feel the cold draft come in threw the door. Even when closed, the wind was blowing threw the cracks.

"We should probably ask the workers to mend that door," said the Driver, "we don't want to turn our engines into frozen statues of ice, do we?"

"Nope, the Fat Controller certainly wouldn't like that and neither would our engines."

Within a few minutes, Duck's fire was burning nicely and he had a good head of steam. His Driver opened the regualtor and Duck puffed out of the sheds slowly. As he rolled onto the rails outside, he could some slippery spots.

"What's going here?" he cried.

"Sorry Duck," said his Driver, "but we forgot to mention to you that we had freezing rain last night, so the rails are covered in ice."

That was all Duck didn't want to hear, now there was a greater danger on the rails and if not careful, Duck or any of the other engines would get involved into a serious accident.

"Must take care, must take care," he puffed to himself.

All day long, Duck puffed along the line with each wheel turn by wheel turn, going as slowly and carefully as possible.

At around lunchtime, Duck was waiting for his passengers to board his train. While he waited, his crew were taking the time to talk with the stationmaster.

"The people of the mountain village have got nearly everything ready for the festival," the stationmaster was saying, "but they don't know what to do for the winter festival's icon."

"Isn't the role usually taken by a snowman?" asked the Driver.

"Normally yes, but this year they want to try something enterily different."

"Well they sure got something different that one year when Oliver became their snow engine," chuckled the fireman.

"That was a very good year," agreed the stationmaster, "but they don't want to use a real engine for the festival, mostly cause they know that the Fat Controller won't allow one of his engines to take part of a festival, literally."

"I sure wouldn't want to sit in a siding looking like a snow engine," groaned Duck quietly.

The guard's whistle blew at that moment, the stationmaster backed away as Duck and his passenger train puffed away to their next destination.

After a long day's work, Duck returned to the sheds to find the Fat Controller waiting for him.

"I need you to take a special goods train to the mountain village, it's a mixture of coal trucks and supply trucks."

"Understood sir."

"Oh and please be careful," he advised, "I hear we're suppose to be getting another rainstorm tonight, which could prove to be a hazard out on the rails."

Duck looked outside and his worries grew even more. Slowly but surely, he puffed out of the sheds and headed off for the goods yards.

When he arrived, the trucks were grumbling bitterly to themselves. They had been working all day and did not want to take anymore supplies anywhere. Because they were cross, they wanted to take their anger out on someone and since Duck was the only one near by, they decided that he would do.

"We'll get him," they sniggered, "he has no right to take us away from our sleep."

Duck heard nothing of course as he set off for the village.

The crew decided to go a little slower than they usually would, Duck didn't mind, "must be careful, must be careful," he panted.

The trucks however had other ideas, they waited till the village could be seen. Then without warning, "go on. Go on. Go on. GO-ON!GO-ON! GO-ON!" they shouted as they surged into each other.

Duck was taken off guard and was horrifed.

"STOP! STOP!" he cried.

His Driver slammed on the brakes, the guard did the same, but the brakes were useless aganist the troublesome trucks pushing from behind. The speed continued to build, then came the worst part...Duck could see lots of snow on the line.

Earlier that day, snow had come on the line, Donald and Douglas hadn't gotten to this line as they were busy clearing the other lines. Now with the rain coming down, it made the snow harder than ever.

Upon seeing this, the Driver and fireman made a daring jump onto the hard packed snow, while Duck shut his eyes.

His wheels slipped off the rails and onto the hard packed snow, at first Duck drove through the snow until he fell into a deep sink hole.

"Bust my buffers," groaned Duck.

The crew walked over to their engine to see if he was okay, then they went to get help. No engine was available at this time, so Butch the Tow Truck came to lift Duck onto his flatbed.

Duck felt very foolish, he had lots of snow surronding him, making him look like a real snow engine.

Just as Duck was being lifted onto Butch's flatbed, the Fat Controller walked up to see him, "I know the accident wasn't your fault Duck and you are not to blame, it was those trucks. Thankfully you didn't take on too much damage from the accident, so once that snow has been cleared off of you, you can go back to work."

"Thank...you...sir," shivered Duck, he felt very uncomfortable.

Duck spent the rest of the night at the Sodor Steamworks, standing under the bow-dry heater. Bit by bit, the snow fell off and fell to the ground, till it was all off and there was a huge puddle around Duck.

He returned to the sheds the following morning, he didn't say very much.

"Duck was right about snow and ice being dangerous," said Oliver to Douglas, "I sure would like to give those trucks a piece of my mind, I just wonder if Duck is going to hate snow now."

"Och, I dinna think you need to worry aboot that."

Douglas than gave Oliver a wink. Duck however said nothing on the subject and puffed away to collect his coaches.

When he came up to the mountain village, he was in for a huge surprise, there was a huge snow statue that looked...just like him.

"I thought you weren't going to do a snow engine," he said to the stationmaster.

"What we said was that we weren't going to use a real engine, but we didn't say anything about making a snow statue of you Duck. After seeing you in all that snow, we decided to make that snow engine, this year's official winter festival icon."

"Well Duck," said his Driver, "looks like your accident proved to be very valuable indeed."

"I guess so," he said, looking over to the statue, "better him than me, now I know just how Oliver felt when he was a snow engine."

**Author's Note:**

The story was inspired by many stories I have heard about problems with snow, ice and freezing rain, one of which I remember hearing was similar to what was told in this very story.


	7. Sakura the Cheery Blossom Engine

_**Sakura the Cheery Blossom Engine**_

In the high hills of Sodor, the narrow gauge engines were busy at work with more and more trains to take. More and more goods train had to be taken into the high hills and villages, while the passenger trains were always packed with passengers going to do Christmas shopping.

Even with all the extra work, the Thin Controller advised his engines to please 'not' overwork themselves.

I'm sorry to say that the little engines couldn't make promises as they were pushed past their limits, pushing and pulling trains.

"If this keeps up," grumbled Sir Handel, "I'm bound to brake down!"

He was working with Skarloey on passenger runs, the two were waiting for their passengers to board their trains. Whist they waited, they heard a diesel horn and saw Rusty rumble past with Duncan in tow.

"Rusty, what happened to him?" asked Skarloey.

"He overdid it with the workloads, he popped a piston and now I'm taking him to the sheds."

Duncan looked dreadful and didn't say a single word to the two engines.

"That proves my point," said Sir Handel, "despite the many engines we have here on the line, there's still far too much work for all of us to do alone."

"I know what you mean Sir Handel," said Skarloey, "but I don't think the Thin Controller can afford to bring in a new engine during this time."

"Then borrow one! Before I end up breaking down!"

The guard blew his whistle and Sir Handel stormed out of the station, giving a small bump to the coaches.

"Be careful Sir Handel!" called his Driver, "keep this up and you are bound to break yourself into pieces!"

Skarloey watched anxiously as he watched Sir Handel puffed angerily away, he knew that they needed a little extra help and quite soon too!

Late that evening, the Thin Controller came by the sheds to speak to his engines.

"Since Duncan is going to be away at the Sodor Steamworks getting his piston fixed, I will require you engines to take his trains, as well as your own."

"We'll try sir," said Peter Sam gravely.

"Remember my engines, don't push yourselves past your limits."

Then he walked away. No sooner was he out of sight, then Sir Handel started to grumble again, " 'don't push yourselves past your limts' he says, Pah! He's pushing us past our limits!"

"We'll manage Sir Handel," Duke told him firmly, "there's still eight of us in service, we'll manage."

"If we were in good working order Granpuff, but not when we're on the verge of breaking down."

"I have to agree with Sir Handel," said Skarloey, "this railway's business has been going up in recent years, especially after Mighty Mac and Freddie came here and the new Wharf was opened."

"Finally Skarloey agrees with me on something," smiled Sir Handel, "I think the only way we can arrange the heavy workloads is with another engine."

All the engines agreed with him, even Duke had to agree, "then it's settled, I'll be sure to bring it up with the Thin Controller tomorrow."

Sadly Sir Handel wasn't going to get that chance. No sooner had he started with his goods train, along with Duncan's trucks, that he came to a complete stop with a loud crack, then steam escaped and engulfed him.

"What happened?" he asked feebly.

"It's your boiler, something's failed and now you've broken down and what a time to do it!" grumbled the Driver.

The Driver tried to get Sir Handel to start again, but he wouldn't go. The fireman ran back to the station to call for help and soon Duke arrived to tow Sir Handel back to the sheds.

When they arrived, they found the Thin Controller waiting for them.

"This is a disaster," he groaned, "now I'm going to have to give both Sir Handel and Duncan's jobs to one of the other engines."

"Excuse me sir," called Duke, "we've all been talking and we were wondering if you could bring in an extra engine to help with the workloads."

"We have been getting more and more work with all the new businesses opening up," added Sir Handel.

"Well," said the Thin Controller, "I guess it would be okay to bring in a new engine. I was orginally planning on buying a new engine in the new year, but with two of my engines out of service, I guess now is a good time to bring one here."

When he returned to his office, the Thin Controller made two important phone calls, one was to the steamworks for Victor to come and tow Sir Handel there and the other was to another railway.

"Hello...yes it's Mister Percival...remember that engine you said you were going to send me...do you still have her? You do...well I was wondering if you could send her here...earlier than planened? You will? Thank you so much...okay bye."

The following next morning, Peter Sam puffed into the Wharf with Duncan's slate trucks, he was red cheeked as he pulled up next to Henry's train.

"You look worn out Peter Sam, what's wrong?"

"It's all the extra work," he gasped, "there's a lot of work that needs to be done and now with Sir Handel and Duncan at the steamworks, we're been kept busier than ever. Hopefully the new engine can help us out, whenever she arrives."

"She?" Henry was surprised, "for as long as I've known you, you've never had a girl engine on your line."

"Well there's always a first time."

Soon Henry's trucks were loaded with the slate and he puffed away with a cheerful blast on his whistle, telling Peter Sam "good luck with your work!" as he left.

"We're going to need all the luck we can get," he groaned.

"Come on Peter Sam," said his Driver, "let's get..."

But before his Driver could say anything else, they all heard the sound of an engine coming into the Wharf.

"I wonder who's coming," Peter Sam thought to himself.

He was soon to get his answer. The engine pulled up beside Peter Sam. This engine was painted in bright pink, had four driving wheels, a tall funnel, had the number '27' below her coal bunker and on the side of her boiler was the name 'Sakura'.

"Hello there," smiled the engine, "I'm honored to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you...Sa...Ah..." Peter Sam was finding it hard to say her name.

"I know my name is a difficult to say at first, but here's an easy way to say until you feel like you can say it. Sa-Ku-Ra, I hope that helps."

"Sa...ku...ra," Peter Sam said quietly, "it does help, thank you, my name is Peter Sam."

Just the Thin Controller came up, "ah Sakura, I'm glad to see you, did you have any trouble finding your way here?"

"Nope, my crew and I had no trouble getting here, although we did get a cow on the line. We just blew the whistle and it moved out of the way."

"Good to hear that," then he turned to Peter Sam, "I would like you to take Sakura to the coal mines to collect Sir Handel's coal trucks, then return to the Top Station to collect your coaches."

"Yes sir," smiled Peter Sam.

With two blows of the whistles, Sakura and Peter Sam puffed on their way to the coal mines.

Along the way, Peter Sam noticed that Sakura was looking beside the line to a set of trees, which had something pink on the branchs.

"A little late in the season to be blooming, isn't it?" Peter Sam asked in confusion.

"Not really," smiled Sakura, "those are cheery blossom trees, they usually blossom every winter. They are actually called 'Sakura Trees'. My old manager said that I blossom like a cheery blossom tree, hence why he gave me the name 'Sakura'."

"That was nice of him."

"It was indeed, but I'm sorry to say that he was the only one who treated me with respect."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well...on my old railway, I was the only female engine on the line, most of the boy engines would often tease me by saying I was too weak to pull any trains and others would say stupid things to me. I hope I don't get to hear that here."

Peter Sam chuckled quietly, "oh I'm sure you won't be hearing that here, all the engines are friendly and would never dare say such things, if they do, then they'll have to deal with our wise old engines."

Sakura started to feel a bit better and put on a little more puff to the coal mines.

As the day went on, Sakura proved to be a helpful and resourceful engine. She took more trains in one day than either Sir Handel or Duncan could ever take together and she had gained the respect of the other engines.

Although she was settling in nicely, Peter Sam was worrying about what Sir Handel and Duncan would say when they did return, but that will have to wait till the next story.


	8. When Push Comes to Shove

_**When Push Comes to Shove**_

A few days after Sakura came to the railroad, Peter Sam puffed back into the sheds, looking worried. Duke could see that look on his face and wanted to know what the matter was.

"I'm just worried for Sakura, I told her that every engine on this line was friendly and so far, she has seen that."

Duke know understood, "but she hasn't seen either Sir Handel and Duncan, they might not be in a good mood when they return."

"That's just what I'm afraid of."

When Sir Handel and Duncan finally did return to the yards, Peter Sam had every right to worry. They were in a sour mood and when they found out that they had a 'girl' on the railway, they decided to take it all out on her.

"Careful as you puff along," called Duncan to Sakura as he was going for some trucks, "we wouldn't want you to come off the tracks with a heavy load."

I'm sorry to say that Sir Handel was just as bad, "maybe you should leave the jobs to a real engine, like myself."

Sakura felt very hurt and felt very sad.

At the sheds, she met up with Skarloey and Peter Sam, they were having their bunkers filled with extra coal.

"I thought you said that all engines were friendly on this line," she said to Peter Sam, "and yet, I got some rude remarks from two engines named Sir Handel and Duncan."

Peter Sam sadly looked down to his buffers, then he looked back to Sakura, ready to speak. He didn't get the chance as Skarloey spoke first.

"Sir Handel and Duncan can be like that from time to time," he said, "it's just in their nature. Besides Peter Sam was quite right, this is a friendly railroad."

"I hear that alot, but I don't see that with those two engines."

Peter Sam then joined in, "it's not just you, they will say rude things to other engines. When Sir Handel and I first arrived on this railroad, he was rude to Skarloey and the coaches too. Duncan was no different, he was rude to all of us, especially Rusty."

"Indeed you are right Peter Sam," said Skarloey, "so you see Sakura, it's not just you."

"I guess so, but what am I suppose to do to make them stop? I've tried many times to stop the stupid remarks, but it never does."

"Well it does here, just give those two some time to get used to you."

"It really all depends on how much time I have here on this railroad, but I'll give it a try, thanks Skarloey and you too Peter Sam."

With her bunker now full, Sakura puffed slowly away to her next job.

"That was kind of you Peter Sam," Skarloey said after the pink engine had left, "helping to cheer Sakura up just shows how much of an improvement you've made."

"I suppose Granpuff has told you about the times I used to tease him, right?"

"Yes, he has mentioned it, but that's the way all young engines are. You've come a long way, just like many other engines."

Peter Sam felt pleased and now was determined to stop the rude remarks made to Sakura.

Although the engines tried hard to stop the remarks made, none of them could stop Duncan or Sir Handel from saying what they wanted to say.

A few days later, Sakura was finally going to be given a chance to show Sir Handel and Duncan, just useful she could be.

She was sent to work along with Sir Handel, Duncan and Rusty down at the coal mines. Rusty had been asked by Skarloey and Peter Sam to keep an eye on the two engines. So whenever the two were teasing or saying something rude, Rusty would send them away.

Then around lunchtime, that's when it all happened. Some trucks were tired of being good and wanted to have some fun.

"Breakaway! Breakaway!" they said to each other, so they pulled on the cable for the incline - and they pulled some more! - And they pulled!

Sakura was working at the bottom of the incline and could see the trouble coming.

"If those trucks break away," she said to her Driver, "then they could cause a great deal of trouble and they might hurt someone too."

"Then what do you suggest old girl?" he asked.

Sakura thought about it for a while, then she looked to see Sir Handel and Duncan, they were looking at her with pity looks upon their faces.

"I think we should try to stop the trucks!" she said at last.

The crew weren't so sure, "it's risky and it might hurt you."

"I don't care, the safety of this railway's workers and their engines is important, so I'll take the risk!"

Fired with determination, the crew agreed and got to work. The fireman stoked the fire, while the Driver opened the regulator. Slowly but surely and with some slipping on her wheels, Sakura rolled up the incline.

"What is that silly girl doing up there?" Sir Handel asked in surprise.

Before anyone could reply with an answer, there came a loud snap! They looked up, only to find about ten heavily loaded coal trucks rolling down the incline towards...Sakura!

"On! On! On?" The trucks were surprised to see an engine blocking their way.

"It's time you trucks were put in your place!" shouted Sakura, "I will not allow you to hurt this railway, it's engines, or it's workers. Even if I have to put my own buffers on the line!"

"Then you shall crash!" the trucks shouted back, "cause we trucks don't know the meaning of the word 'Surrender'."

"Then today is the day that you finally learn the word!"

The trucks were pushing hard aganist Sakura and pushing her down the incline at an alarming rate.

"Hang on Sakura," cried her Driver.

"Just focus...on stopping...this runaway!"

"We're on the job!" shouted the fireman.

It was hard work, Sakura's wheels kept spinning forwards, while the trucks pushed her further and further away from the incline. Sakura was red cheeked in the face, but she was not willing to give up.

Her fireman looked back and noticed that they were getting close to a runaway siding, "that could work!"

The Driver blew the whistle loud and long, a shunter came out and changed the points right away. Sakura and her runaway train rolled into the siding with a thunderous crash!

When the dust settled, Sakura could be seen on her side with a few trucks piled up around her, the coal was all over the place and the buffers at the end of the siding were smashed to bits.

"Is anyone hurt?" called out Rusty's Driver.

Rusty came over as quickly as he could, he was hoping that no-one was seriously hurt. Within a minute, Sakura's crew came out of the mess and walked up to Rusty's cab.

"We're fine, I'm not enterily sure about Sakura though," said her Driver, "are you okay Sakura?"

"I'm...fine," she said, she didn't sound like she was in pain, she sounded like she was happy.

While both Sir Handel and Duncan continued on with the work at the incline, Rusty ran off to get the breakdown train and soon had Sakura lifted back onto the rails. Victor came by to take her to the steamworks for a few repairs.

The repairs however seemed to be taking a long time as weeks had passed. No-one heard a single word about how Sakura was doing, this made a lot of engine worry about her, especially Peter Sam.

Then on the week before Christmas, the Thin Controller came up to the sheds.

"As of late, as I am sure many of you are aware, that this line is getting to be busier and busier, plus in the new year, there are plans to extend the line even further. Because of the heavy workloads, it is clear that this line does need a new engine, which is why I am here today, to welcome the new addition to our railway family."

"I wonder who it is," said Mac to Mighty.

"I don't know," he answered back.

Just then, they all heard a familar whistle in the distance, it sounded soft, sweet and kind. Peter Sam knew right away who it was, "it's Sakura!" he cried.

As the engine puffed forward, the engines gasped in amazement to see, it was Sakura. She had been repainted with a new coat of paint, she had a new funnel and now had the number '8' on both sides of her bunker.

"A few months back," continued the Thin Controller, "I made a deal with an old friend of mine to buy Sakura as he has plenty of engines. I chose Sakura because of all the hard work she does. I was going to bring her here in the new year, but now the plans have changed and now I am happy to say that Sakura is the latest engine on our line."

The engines cheered, except for Sir Handel and Duncan.

The Thin Controller then looked over to Sakura, "you have done myself and your old controller proud, you saved my engines and workers from a disaster, hence why you got your new coat of paint and new number."

"Thank you sir," she smiled, "I am happy to be part of your railway, especially with such kind engines."

She winked at Peter Sam, who blushed a small shade of red.

Then the Thin Controller looked back over to Duncan and Sir Handel, "as for you two, I know that you have been horrid to Sakura, I would like it to stop here and now. You wouldn't like it if someone said those horrible things about you, would you?"

"No sir," they groaned in unison, "we wouldn't sir."

"I thought so, so that's why I want the rude remarks to stop...otherwise, I'll have a serious chat with you and I don't think you'll like that, will you?"

The engines silently agreed, then they apologized to Sakura.

"Welcome to our railway Sakura," Peter Sam smiled.

Then the other engines and crews all started to cheer. Sakura the Cherry Blossom Engine smiled happily and blushed, she knew that from that moment onwards, she was going to be happy in her new home. Working happily with her new friends on Mister Percival's Narrow Gauge Railway.


	9. Spinning Out of Control

_**Spinning Out of Control**_

It was a nice spring day, Bertie the Bus was taking some people to Ffraquhar station for Daisy to collect them. The journey was going well, until Bertie came upon Butch trying to get a tree off the road.

There had been a huge storm the night before, and now there was some damage on the railway and on the roads too.

"Daisy is never going to let me hear the end of it if I'm late," groaned Bertie.

"Can't be helped Bertie," said his Driver, "these things happen from time to time."

"Don't you worry Bertie," called Butch, "this tree will be off the road in no time. You just better take care on your way to Ffraquhar, I think some of the roads have been flooded or are blocked, no thanks to last night's storm."

"I'll be careful," he said.

Within a couple of minutes, Butch had the tree off the road.

"Well Bertie, I need to be off, I need to clear more roads."

"Understood, thank you Butch."

Butch left first, then Bertie set off on the rest of his journey to the station.

Thankfully most of the damage from the previous night storms had been cleared away, so Bertie didn't have any trouble reaching the station. When he arrived, he could see that Daisy was no where to be seen.

"Where is that diesel rail-car?" he thought to himself.

The Station-master came up to speak to Bertie, "Daisy has been delayed further down the line, she'll be coming along soon."

He was quite right, for a few minutes later, Daisy came into the station, with her cheeks in a deeper shade of red than they usually were.

"Sorry I'm late, but lots of rubbish had been blown all over the tracks," she said while breathing heavily, "I had to wait for Whiff and his rubbish crew to come and clear up the mess."

"It's understandable," said Bertie, "I was held up with a tree on the road, that storm from last night sure caused a lot of damage."

"Indeed."

Soon Daisy had Bertie's passengers and Bertie had her passengers. Daisy tried to move, but found that she couldn't move an inch.

"What's wrong?" she asked her Driver.

Her Driver got down to see what the problem was, it didn't take him too long to find the trouble.

"One of your brakes has jammed themselves on your wheels, but I thought I had released them. They must have failed old girl, I'll have to phone for help."

Daisy sulked as her Driver walked into the stationmaster's office to phone for help.

"Surprising that you should have a minor incident," chuckled Bertie, "I never get myself into trouble."

"Oh really?" Daisy sniffed crossly, "What about the time you went threw a muddy field to the garden party and again when you had the brass band?"

"How did you hear about those?"

"I heard from Edward, he talks about a lot of stuff on his branch line and near the Orchard."

"Okay I do have a few minor incidents, but at least I don't break down when I'm needed."

Before Daisy could say anything more, Bertie had raced away with his passengers. He knew that he had broken down more than a few times when he had to take passengers, and everytime that happened, Thomas would come along to take his passengers.

"It's better not to say anything about those incidents next time," he thought to himself.

Thankfully as the day wore on, Bertie didn't see anymore of Daisy and so the subject was dropped...for the time being.

On his last journey of the day, Bertie pulled into the parking lot of the junction station to drop passengers off. Thomas was there with Annie and Clarabel and an extra coach behind Clarabel.

"Why do you have an extra coach Thomas?" asked Bertie.

"I have to take Daisy's passengers along with my own," he answered, "she's at the engine works to have her brakes fixed, so I've been kept extra busy all day. I'm actually lucky to get here on time."

"Well these things can happen."

"Too true, like your engine failing."

Bertie frowned, "I suppose Daisy has told you of what we were talking about before, right?"

"She did, she told me everything when I arrived to take her passengers away."

Bertie just groaned quietly to himself. Thomas' guard blew his whistle and Thomas blew his whistle in reply, "I must be going Bertie, and don't you worry, Daisy will be back at work soon."

Bertie just said nothing at all, he dreaded to think of what Daisy would have to say.

The next morning was a cloudy Sunday morning, but Bertie was still in good moods as he raced along to the church with his passengers. They arrived with thirty minutes to spare.

"Well Bertie," said his Driver, "I'm going in as well, I'll see you in an hour and a half."

But Bertie's Driver hadn't put his bus into park probably. As he started to climb out, Bertie started to roll.

"What are you doing Bertie?" cried the Driver.

"I don't know."

Bertie was now spinning around in the parking lot of the church and going around in a circle. During the spin, Bertie's driver fell off the steps and fell onto the ground. He managed to get back to his feet and race to safety.

Poor Bertie on the other hand was getting dizzy going backwards.

"I don't like this," he groaned, "someone, stop me!"

Bertie's Driver ran to find a phone, but he didn't need to call for help as a police officer came up. He was the officer that took over the last policeman's job on the route to the quarry on Thomas' branch. He was just getting into the parking lot when he saw Bertie spinning around in a circle.

"Good glory," he gasped, "that's something you don't see everyday."

He turned off his car and raced over to where Bertie's Driver and some other people were watching.

"How did this happen?" he asked.

"I guess it's my fault," groaned the Driver, "I probably didn't put the brakes on hard."

The officer looked over to the now dizzy Bertie, "we can't have him spinning around like that."

He called for back up and waited with the rest of the on-lookers.

Five minutes later, four more officers arrived and couldn't believe this.

"I think we should wait till he runs out of gas," said one of the other officers.

"That won't be for a long time," said Bertie's Driver, "I had filled up Bertie's gas tank before we left the depot."

"Then we're just going have to find another way to stop that bus," said the first officer.

The officers had to make some daring attempts to get to Bertie, they tried racing to the other side where the door was, but that was too dangerous as Bertie was going too fast.

"Please...stop me!" Bertie cried.

"We will," cried the first officer, "somehow we will stop you."

They had no choice, one officer smashed the window on the Driver's side and tried to jump in, but Bertie was still going too fast. To make matters worse, it was impossible for anyone to get into the open window as Bertie was higher than most vehicles.

"Now what?" asked one of the other officers.

"Just keep trying!" said the first officer.

He made a daring jump when Bertie came around, this time he landed on the top of Bertie's engine. The officer made his way carefully to the broken window and landed in the driver's seat. He finally pulled on the brake lever and Bertie came to a stop.

There came a loud chrous of cheers from all the on-lookers and Bertie's Driver too. Bertie was so dizzy and out of breath, but he still managed to smile as a way to say thank you to the officer.

That night, Bertie was having his window replaced at the mechanics, he was quiet throught the entire night.

"What is Daisy going to say to me?" he thought to himself, "I guess I won't know till tomorrow."

The next morning, Bertie met up with Daisy at the station again. He was sure she was going to make fun of him for the incident in the church parking lot, but to his relief, she didn't say anything about that.

"Listen Daisy, I'm sorry for the way I was acting before, I will admit that I do get myself into minor accidents just like you or anyone else."

"There's no need to be sorry Bertie," she smiled, "we were just talking, there's nothing wrong with that."

"That's right," smiled the bus.

All the same, Bertie decided not to say anything more to Daisy, especially not about the incident. Although between you and me, Daisy knew nothing about it at all and I doubt she ever will, what do you think?

**Author's Note:**

This story was based on a real life event of a car that was spinning out of control in a church parking lot. The Driver hadn't put the car into park properly and the car spun out of control in a circle with a full tank of gas. The car was finally brought to a stop after an officer had smashed the window and was able to climb into the driver's seat to shut the car off and apply the brakes properly.


	10. Toby the Zombie Engine

_**Toby the Zombie Engine**_

It was a quiet day on Sodor, the Fat Controller was in his office, looking over some important paper work. As he was looking threw the paperwork, he found a letter that was addressed to him.

"Well, bless my soul," he gasped, "it's from my old friend, Jammie Smacker, I never thought I would get to hear from him again."

He opened the envolope and pulled out the letter, which read as follows...

"Dear Sir Topham Hatt,

It's been a long time since I last spoke to you. I hope everything is okay with your railway. I've been doing very well with my music career, I'm in the works of a new music video and I was wondering if we film our video on the old quarry line and if we could borrow one of your engines for the video.

Please reply back soon,

Singed Jammie Smacker."

The Fat Controller looked at the letter and smiled, "I'm sure we can arrange something old friend."

So he picked up the phone and made some very important phone calls.

A few days later, Thomas and the other branch line engines were getting prepared for the following day's work, when they saw the Fat Controller's car pull up.

"Good morning my engines," he said cheerfully, "I have come with some important news. An old friend of mine is coming to the Island to film a music video and he's asking for one of you engines to help."

The engines looked excited, but Percy looked confused, "what's a music video?"

"It's like a small movie," Toby explained, "the only difference is that one song plays during the entire length of the video, usually sung by the singer."

"That's right Toby," said the Fat Controller, "now I have already made the arranagments for the video crew to film the old quarry branch, now I need to decide on which engine can be allowed into the video."

Thomas looked on with an excited look on his face, he was sure that he was going to be chosen. His mood soon changed, when the Fat Controller looked over to Toby, "Toby, I would like you to be that engine."

Toby smiled happily. Thomas however, was in complete shock.

"Why Toby? I would be a better engine for the video."

"Don't you worry sir," smiled Toby, "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Now I want you to go to the steamworks for your repaint, I've already informed the workmen of what they are to do."

"Yes sir," and Toby trundled out of the sheds, the other engines all shouted to Toby to say "Congratulations!". In fact, they were shouting so loudly, that nobody heard Thomas grinding his teeth.

It wasn't long before Toby arrived at the steamworks. Victor and the workmen were waiting there for him.

"Hello my friend," called Victor, "I heard the Fat Controller's given you a special job."

"Yes indeed - by the way, what am I going to be doing in the video?"

"You are suppose to look like a zombied scrap engine emerging from the old mine shafts," answered one of the workers, "it will take all morning, but it'll be worth it, especially when the director sees you."

"Quite right," smiled Victor, then he called into the shops, "Kevin! Bring out that special paint we were talking about before."

"Coming right up boss!"

Kevin came out with a small platform with cans of brown paint. He was careful not to spill them, but he did drop them...by accident.

"Sorry boss," he said meekily, "slip of the hook, you know."

"Oh Kevin!" groaned Victor.

Within minutes, the workmen got to work in painting Toby all over. They removed his number seven, then they painted red scrap iron paint on his cowcatchers, then they painted Toby's wooden body with different shades of brown, then they painted his roof. Finally, they added some 'make-up' on his face.

Soon Toby looked like a real scrap engine. He even spooked his own crew when they came to get him.

"My word," gasped the Driver, "we never thought we would ever see you like this, Toby. Thankfully it's only for the music video."

"Still," said the fireman, "you did surprise us, we thought you were another engine."

Toby smiled as he looked at some of the new paintwork, "thank you for the repaint," he called to the workers, then he trundled off to the big station.

Toby soon arrived into the big station, where the Fat Controller and the director were waiting for him. The director looked at Toby, and smiled brightly.

"Well Sir Topham, I have to say that your workers have done a fantastic job with Toby. He's perfect for the music video."

Toby blushed modestly, although it was hard to tell under all his make-up, "thank you sir."

"Now Toby," The Fat Controller cut in, "you are to go back to the branch line and do some shunting work with Percy. Rosie will take care of your passenger runs."

"Understood sir. Will she be using Henrietta?"

"No, she's getting repainted at this time. You'll need her tonight for the filming, Emily will bring her there later."

The director then told Toby's crew of when they were to bring Toby to the quarry line, then they trundled off back to the Branch line.

When Toby arrived in the shunting yards, Percy nearly popped a piston and the trucks were nearly spooked out of their frames, until they heard some quiet chuckles.

"There's no need to be scared Percy," called Toby, "it's only me."

"Toby? Why do you look like that?"

"It's my role for the music video, I'm suppose to look like a zombied scrap engine that is suppose to emerge from the mine shafts. Till then, I'm going to be working in the yards with you."

"That's good, maybe with you around, the real ghostly scrap engines will leave me alone." Toby could only chuckle and so did his own and Percy's crews. Even Percy had to laugh.

The only one who wasn't laughing was Thomas, he could see Toby from where he was, and he was cross!

"Show-off!" he muttered darkly.

Soon, Toby began his trip to the old quarry mine as the sun was setting. As he puffed along, Toby could see that the film crews had been busy all day with the work on the line, just to make it look like it hadn't been used in years.

"Very nice job," said the Driver.

Soon enough, Toby had arrived at the mines, Bertram was having a small discussion with Emily and Henrietta.

"Don't you look scary," said Emily, looking over the repainted Toby, "you do look you're an old scrap engine."

"If I was a ghost," chuckled Bertram, "you certainly would give me a scare out of my mine."

Toby chuckled for a while and so did Emily. When she had gone, Toby decided to talk to Bertram before the film crew came.

"I thought you would be working with the other narrow gauge engines."

"I normally would," said Bertram, "but Mister Percival says that I can work the mine shafts during the busy seasons. Now, I know that the busy winter season is over, but he was kind enough to allow me to come here to help with the filming."

"Won't he have some problems with you here?"

"Oh no, not with Sakura doing my jobs, she can actually do the work of two engines."

Just then, the director and Jammie came into view. The singer looked over Toby and smiled, "you are perfect for the role Toby," he smiled, "I am looking forward to be working with you."

"Well, I'm looking forward to be working with you, Mr. Smacker."

"Please, call me Jammie."

The cameras were set up, Toby backed onto Henrietta, who looked like an old scrap coach with her new paint work. Then he brought her over to the crew, who climbed on board.

"Alright Toby," called the Director, "please back towards the mines, but don't go inside."

Toby's Driver threw Toby into reserve slowly, the fireman kept a good look out and told the Driver when to stop. When they did stop, the workers covered all of Henrietta's windows and the filming began, while Toby's crew got themselves into their costumes.

Then right on cue, the director told Toby to back into the mine, Toby did so - then within a few minutes, Toby remerged, the cameras beside the line filmed him going by and the other cameras filmed the singer and his crew inside of Henrietta.

Toby and his crew made sure that they took care around every curve and set of points and were still able to play their part too.

In a short while, everyone met up at the old station by the lonely signalbox. Toby and his crew waited for the news from the director - which wasn't very long, he came out - with a big grin of his face.

"You have all done a very good job," he smiled, "same with you, Toby. It's no wonder why the Fat Controller chose you for the role, your smooth running meant no mistakes during the filming."

"Are you sure? I thought that we have made a few mistakes."

"Not at all, you did a good job. Now, you can go back to your shed for a rest, and we'll see you here tomorrow night."

"Yes sir," smiled Toby, who trundled off back to the sheds for a well earned rest.

When he got back to the sheds, Toby told the other engines of all the great work he had done. They were all very proud of him, well, except for Thomas, who quietly snarled under his breath.

"I should have been chosen."

I would think that Thomas is letting jealously get the better of him again, wouldn't you agree?


	11. Rain, Rain Go Away

_**Rain, Rain, Go Away**_

The filming of the music video was coming along nicely. It was clear to see why Toby had been picked for the role, it was because he was steady and never made a mistake. Everyone was pleased with the tram engine. Well...all except for Thomas, who complained bitterly.

"It should've been me, it should've been me," he grumbled, "I could have done a fine job with the filming. Instead, I have to take all of his stone trucks from Mavis, while he's off having the time of his life."

The Driver and fireman didn't say a single word back, they've heard this kind of talk before and thought it would go away soon.

Rosie on the other hand, didn't think that it would go away. She was worried that Thomas might hate Toby forever.

Back at the old mine, Toby was doing some extra work for the film crews and would often talk to Bertram.

"I hear we're suppose to be getting a thunderstorm tonight," said Bertram, "they might consider not filming tonight, unless they were planning on filming in the rain."

Toby chuckled slightly, "I don't think they'll be doing that, it's suppose to be a halloween video, not a video about chugging in the rain."

Bertram had to chuckle quietly too.

Just as Bertram had said, the rain came down that night and the director cancelled the filming for that night. Toby was sent off back to the branch line to help the late night jobs on Thomas' branch.

"It's a good thing your new paintjob is water proof," said his Driver, "otherwise the workers would have to paint you all over again."

"Indeed," agreed Toby.

He soon arrived at the quarry, Mavis was just shunting her trucks into line.

"Hello Toby," she called, "I haven't seen you around for a while."

"Well, I've been busy with the filming for the music video. And since most of the work is done by night, the Fat Controller gives me the chance to rest during the day."

"So, does this mean that I won't be seeing much of you anymore?"

"Of course you will," Toby smiled, "this is only going on till the work is done," then he looked up to the grey sky, "and when the rain stops pouring down."

Mavis sighed in relief, then she rumbled off to shunt more trucks, while Toby reserved to his train and trundle away.

At the sheds, Rosie was trying to sleep, but she could hear Thomas grumbling quietly.

"Is something wrong, Thomas?" she asked kindly.

"It's nothing," he muttered, "just get some sleep Rosie, you're needed at the junction tomorrow."

"Thomas, I know something is bothering you. Now, I'm not going back to sleep until you tell me."

Thomas groaned quietly to himself, then he looked to the other stalls, he could see the other engines sleeping.

"Fine, I'll tell you," he huffed, "the reason I'm upset is because of Toby and that music video. I can't understand why the Fat Controller would want Toby to be the star engine and not me."

"Maybe it's because the Fat Controller and the director wanted an old engine."

Rosie was only trying to be helpful, but it didn't work.

"I'm an old engine too! I've been on this island for years, I ran this branch line long before Toby came, that should have been more than enough reasons to be chosen. Now, go to sleep Rosie!"

With that said, Thomas closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Rosie however, did not fall asleep. She had heard many stories about engines, who let their jealously get the better of them, and she didn't want that to happen to Thomas.

"He really needs to talk to Toby," she thought to herself, "I'll tell..."

Rosie couldn't finish what she was thinking, for she was so tired, that she went to sleep right away.

The following morning, Toby was out on the quarry line, he was taking the film crews down the line to make sure that everything was ready for the night's filming.

"I sure hope that we get clear skies tonight," said one of the cameraman.

"So do we," agreed Toby's Driver.

The workers continued with their work, even after Toby had gone off back to work. All day long, the weather was perfect, and the director thought for sure that nothing could ruin that night's plans.

But he was wrong. As night rolled around, the skies darkened with dark grey rain clouds hanging above them.

"Alright people and engines, let's get started!" shouted the director.

No sooner had Toby began moving, then he felt some rain coming down all around him. At first, it was raining lightly, then it started to pour down hard.

"Cut, Cut!" shouted the director, "we need to get the equipment out of the rain!"

Then there was trouble, "the equipment room has got a leaking roof!" shouted another worker, "the rain will destory the equipment if you put it in there."

Toby then called out, "why not put your equipment into myself and Henrietta, we've got plenty of room."

The director agreed and within seconds, the equipment was in Toby's back cab and in Henrietta.

"We'll need to have that trailer room's roof fixed," groaned Jammie.

"Toby," called the director, "take us back to the quarry."

Once everyone was on board, Toby trundled slowly back to the quarry.

When he arrived, they found that the crew's temporary shelter's roof had caved in.

"There goes the dressing roof," groaned Jammie, "now what are we going to do?"

Bertram had overheard what Jammie had asked, and knew how to help, "Toby, if you back up down the line and go to your left, you'll find an old engine shed. The roof hasn't fallen in yet, so you and the crew won't get soaked."

"Thank you," he called.

Toby's Driver threw his engine into reserve and Toby backed slowly towards the set of points, his fireman got out to change the points and wave to the driver to back up. Toby was backed slowly along the line, until he came to the engine shed.

It was big enough to allow one of the big main line engines in there.

Bertram rolled in along side, "they used this shed many years ago," he was saying, "in those olden days, some of the main line engines would have to stay here overnight, mostly cause of the thick fog."

"Did you always tell those engines about this shed?" asked Henrietta.

"Indeed, I always told them. Nobody could see this shed from the main line, so the other little engines and I were always asked to tell the other big engines about the shed."

For a few more hours, Bertram told Toby, Henrietta and the film crew all about the olden days and some of the adventures that had been expereinced.

The rain did stop after a while, so the filming went on.

When it was done for that day, the director told everyone that he was impressed with the footage captured, then he spoke to Toby and Bertram.

"If it wasn't for you," he said to Toby, "all the equipment and our films from before would have been ruined. I would like to thank you, Henrietta and your crew for helping," then the director looked over to Bertram, "thank you for telling us about the shed, if you hadn't, we would be stuck in the rain."

"Just glad to help," smiled Bertram.

"That's right," agreed Toby.

"Well, you two certainly were a big help tonight. Both of your controllers are right, you are really useful engines."

Both Bertram and Toby felt very proud and thanked the director greatly.

When Toby returned to the branch line sheds, he noticed that Thomas was grunting quietly.

"What's wrong?" he asked kindly.

"You should know," Thomas scoffed quietly, "now shut up and go to sleep, I have a busy day tomorrow...no thanks to you."

Toby was shocked by what he had just heard, but he felt like he shouldn't ask anything for now. So he closed his eyes and went off to sleep. Thomas grunted himself to sleep, still feeling angry about Toby.

Rosie could see this and wanted to help, "this can't keep going on forever," she thought to herself, "if something isn't done soon, then this could prove to be a bother, not only to the branch line engines, but to everyone."

Rosie knew what she had to do and...well, I better not say anymore, or I might just spoil the next story.


	12. About Thomas

_**About Thomas**_

The following morning, Thomas left bright and early. He had an early morning passenger train to take, but he was more than glad to get away from Toby.

"That show-off," he muttered darkly.

He wheesed some steam crossly, before he went to the carriage sheds.

Rosie had been awoken by Thomas' loud hissing noise, she looked to see him puff away angerily. She then looked over to Toby and knew that she had to talk with him.

She wouldn't have to wait long, as in five minutes, Toby woke up with a loud yawn.

"Good morning young Rosie," smiled Toby, "are we going to have beautiful weather today?"

"Yes we will," Rosie looked down to her buffers, then sighed.

"Whatever is the matter?"

"Thomas has been feeling a little cross lately," she said, "he keeps on calling you a show-off."

"Why is Thomas calling me a 'show-off'?"

"He's angry about not getting the part as the zombie scrap engine," she answered, "he thought that he would have been chosen, but when you got the job, I think it devesated him and now he won't stop complaining."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, he told me that himself."

Toby sighed unhappily, "so that's why he looked so cross last night. Don't worry Rosie, I'm going to do what I can to make things right with Thomas."

As he worked in the yards throughout that day, Toby could easily see what Rosie was talking about. Thomas was puffing along crossly and would look over to Toby in an angry matter.

"I had no idea that this role meant so much to him," Toby thought to himself.

"Come on Toby!" called his Driver, "let's get these trucks delivered to Mavis!"

Toby agreed and with a few dings of his bell, he puffed off towards the quarry.

That night, when the filming had been completed for the evening, Toby asked his Driver, if he could take him to see the director. The Driver was a little puzzled, but agreed.

He was just in time, as the director was about to go off to a hotel bed.

"Sir," called Toby, "could I have a moment of your time, it's about something important."

"Sure Toby," said the director, he walked over to the tram engine, "what would you like to talk about?"

"Well, it's about my friend Thomas..." and Toby told the director all that Rosie had told him that morning, "he just feels bad for not getting the part and he feels left out."

The director was silent for a while, then he looked up to Toby with a smile on his face, "well Toby, you don't need to worry, cause I was planning on giving Thomas a role in this music video."

"You were?"

"Sure," smiled the director, and he whispered the plan to the tram engine and his crew, who smiled happily, "I asked the Fat Controller to keep it quiet for a while, I guess it didn't work out well."

"Don't you worry sir," said Toby, "I'll have a little talk with Thomas, maybe that will help to calm him down."

Toby knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he had to talk with Thomas and settle this bitterness for good.

"Thomas," he said the very next morning, "I know why you're angry."

"Really?" Thomas asked in an angry way, "then why don't you tell me, since you're so great and all!"

"You're angry because I got the role of the zombie scrap engine and you were left in my shadow. It's the same way that you felt when Stanley first came to Sodor."

"No it isn't," Thomas sniffed.

"Look Thomas, I never asked for this part."

"Then why did you take it?" he huffed angerily.

"Because I was needed for the video, the director wanted an old engine for the job..."

"I'm an old engine too!" Thomas snapped crossly, "I may not be as you are, but I've been working on this railroad ever since it opened."

"That is true, but he chose me, you can't really argue with the Fat Controller's orders," said Toby firmly.

Secretly, Thomas agreed, but he still looked cross.

"If I had known how you feeling before," Toby continued, "I could have helped you. You shouldn't keep your anger to yourself, you should have told someone."

"I know that," he sighed unhappily, "but what can we do now? The video is nearly complete and the director won't allow me to join in."

"Actually Thomas, that's where you wrong," said another voice.

It was the director, he was standing at the shed doors in front of Thomas, "Toby was meant to be the zombied scrap engine in the video, but for the final sequences, we wanted you to take part."

Thomas' eyes opened in shock.

"I was going to surprise you with this news, but after hearing how left out you felt, I decided it was best to tell you now."

"Will I become a zombied scrap engine too?"

"No. You are to be the engine that comes along after the zombie scrap train."

"What?"

"It's all part of the video," said Jammie, who also happened to be there, "the train and it's passengers arise from the depths of the mine and when the sun shines, then the train comes into the daylight, it breaks into pieces and a new train appears as it finally reaches home. Just like in my song, 'Rise from the Ashes'."

Thomas was amazed and still a little shocked.

"Sorry we didn't inform you of this earlier Thomas," said the director.

"It's okay," he smiled, "this is a wonderful surprise, but how will you do it?"

"It's easy. We'll be using something called CGI or Computer Generated Images, with that, we can make it look like Toby's train is falling into pieces and you emerge from the ashes."

Thomas was still confused, but he was happy to finally be given a part.

That night, Toby was filmed for his final shots, then as the sun roses, Toby acted like he was falling apart.

"Cut!" called the director.

Toby was brought to a hault, "how was that?"

"Perfect Toby," he smiled, "now bring on Thomas, Annie and Clarabel!"

Toby was moved back down the line and placed into a siding, Thomas was nearby, he still didn't say a word to Toby and puffed to where the director was waiting.

"And action!" shouted the director.

The cameras filmed from every postion and got some of the best shots of Thomas as the sun rose.

"CUT!" shouted the director again, "that was perfect, thank you Thomas!"

Thomas beamed happily, but he knew that he needed to talk to Toby.

That night, after Toby had been painted back to his old self and had returned to the sheds, Thomas spoke up, "I'm sorry for being so cross," he said in a kind way, "I hope you can forgive me."

Toby smiled, "Thomas, I already have forgiven you, it can happen to the best of us, why I remember something like this happening on my old line."

And so Thomas listened into Toby's story, till it was time to sleep.

In a few weeks, the Fat Controller had recieved another letter, he came to see the engines at the Ffraquhar branch line.

"It's from Jammie," he said, "here's what he wrote..."

"Dear Sir Topham Hatt,

Everyone here at the studio and myself would like to thank, you, Toby, Bertram and Thomas for their help. The music video was a great hit and has made the top of the charts. Anyways, thanks again and I hope to see you and your lovely engines again soon.

Signed Jammie Smacker"

Thomas and Toby looked to each other and smiled happily, it certainly was grand to be 'film-star' engines, but Toby I think was mostly glad to be back in his old paint work.

"It was fun being a zombied scrap engine for a while, especially being around with the trucks, it keeps them quiet."

Thomas could only laugh and agreed with his good friend, Toby the Tram Engine.


	13. Bringing Back Smudger

_**Bringing Back Smudger**_

Madge the Snub-nosed lorry has been working with the little narrow gauge engines for quite a few years now, she knows them and they know her. They are all great friends, and she doesn't mind if on a rare occasion that one of them says something bad about her.

One day, she was at the transfer yards with Duke and Sir Handel, they were waiting for Charlie to arrive with some supplies for the villages.

"Some engines you just can't count on," sniffed Sir Handel, "I bet Charlie is hiding his trucks in a siding..."

"That's enough Sir Handel," snapped Duke, "there's no need to blame young Charlie, he's probably being held up with sheep or something."

"I'm surprised at you, granpuff, I thought you would have said 'That would never suit his grace'."

"I was, but not for Charlie."

Sir Handel subsided into silence.

"He's still learning, just like you did once before. Although, Smudger sure didn't learn that lesson in time."

"Who's Smudger?" asked Madge, curiously.

"Smudger was a rough riding engine," said Duke firmly, "we always warned him to be careful, but he never did see sense and soon enough, the manager took away his wheels and cab and turned him into a pumping engine behind our old shed."

"I wonder if he's still back there," said Sir Handel thoughtfully.

"He probably is," said Duke, "not much was saved after the railway closed."

"Poor little engine," said Madge.

"You shouldn't feel sorry for him," said Sir Handel, "he deserved the punishment he got."

Even Duke was quick to agree, but Madge wasn't enterily sure. But she didn't say anymore as Charlie finally arrived with his important load. He apologized for being late and said it was because he couldn't steam probably back in the sheds.

That night, Madge was talking to her driver about she and the two little engines were talking about.

"I just don't think it's fair to leave Smudger there," she was saying, "he might have deserved it years ago, but they should be able to forgive him and maybe try to help him."

"They might have a good reason to not trust him," said her Driver, "anyways, there's nothing we can do, old girl. Only a few people know where the old line was, so it would be impossible to find him."

Madge sighed, she knew her driver was right.

The next morning, Madge was travelling along on the mountain road, almost side by side with Fearless Freddie, who was pulling some coal trucks.

When road and rail left each other's sides, Madge was on her way once more to the town square.

She arrived in double quick timing, pulling up outside of a small store, where it's manager was waiting for her.

"Thank you Madge," he said happily, "it's no wonder why you're called a really useful lorry. I'll be sure to tell your owner of how useful you really were."

Madge smiled as she set off along the road.

But there was trouble to come, a barrier had placed over the road to stop all vehicles from going further on ahead.

"What's going on here?" asked Madge.

Terence the Tractor was close by, he was clearing the roads, "sorry," he called, "but a tree had fallen across the road this morning, according to one of the farmers. You'll have to take another road."

"Come on then Madge," said her Driver, "let's go!"

So he backed Madge down the road and to a few more streets. Madge went down the right road. All was going well, until she came upon Buster and Patrick, they were trying to repair another road.

"We'll have to go down another road," sighed the Driver.

And so they did. Today however just didn't seem to be their lucky day, as they went down many different roads, some that Madge and her Driver had never gone down before.

"How many more delays do we have to pass before we finally get to our next stop?" Madge asked, growing a little impatient.

"I don't know," answered her Driver, "but we have to keep on going, I'm sure that we'll make it back to our shed soon."

But they weren't, as they were soon diverted onto a gravel road, no thanks to Max and Monty's fast racing. Madge bounced up and down through the valley, her Driver was shaken about like popcorn when it's popping.

"I don't like this," groaned Madge, "I wish it would stop!"

Her wish was soon to come true, as Madge came to the bottom of a hill and arrived at an old unused site. There were plenty of buildings, all of which were destoryed by time, an old engine shed was in pieces and several trucks were sitting around, all either rotted out or rusted out.

"Where are we?" asked Madge.

"I don't know," said her Driver, "I'm going to have a look around, then I'll let you know."

And so he left...

He returned quite soon, looking surprised, "would you believe that somehow, we've ended up at the site of Duke's old railway?"

"You don't say," gasped Madge, "and you said it ws impossible to find."

"Well, I guess I was wrong," he said, "but getting home might be a problem. In the meantime, we might as well have a look around."

Once her Driver was back in the cab, Madge drove on slowly through the now empty yards. Everything looked rusty and overgrown, now she knew of what it was like for Toby, when he discovered the old quarry mine.

"I wonder if he's still here," she said.

"Forget it Madge," said her Driver, "he probably won't be able to reply back."

"HELLO!" she called, "SMUDGER! Are you here?"

She waited for a long while, she didn't dare to breath. Then, she heard a voice, "over here..." it gasped weakily, "where are you?"

Madge's Driver moved her slowly towards the back of the old engine shed, where they found what Madge had been hoping to find...it was an old engine, with a nameplate on the side, which read 'Smudger'.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"My name is Madge," she answered, "I've heard about you from Duke."

The engine looked down, a little sad, "so he hasn't forgotten me, is he still saying that I am a troublemaker?"

"I'm afriad so."

"Well, I can assure you, Madge, that I am not a bad engine anymore. I've learned my lesson many years ago, and now I want to prove myself again, but I guess that won't be happening anytime soon."

Smudger started to shed a few tears. Madge felt sorry for Smudger, she didn't like to see an engine suffer, so she made a decision.

"You're going to get your chance to finally prove yourself again," she said, "cause my Driver and I are going to get you out of here and bring you to the railway that Duke runs on."

Smudger looked on with a happy look, "oh thank you," he said, "that would be lovely."

Madge's Driver had to be extra careful in removing the old wall away, and extra careful to place Smudger onto the flatbed, but in no time, Smudger was finally on and tied down. Then he got Smudger's parts from inside the old shed and placed them on the trailer too.

"It's going to be a lot of hard work to get back up that hill with Smudger behind us," said Madge's Driver, "do you think we can do it, old girl?"

"I'm sure that we can," she said, fired with determination.

And so, they set off. It wasn't easy to get back up the hill, but Madge and her Driver were determined. Smudger shouted encouraging words to Madge all the way.

It took a quatar of an hour, but at last, Madge was finally back on the top of the hill and was now rolling down the road to the Transfer yards, where the Thin Controller was waiting.

When Madge arrived, the Thin Controller was surprised by what he saw, "oh my," he gasped, "it's an engine, where did you find him?"

"We found him on Duke's old line," called Madge's Driver, "he's been left at the back of the engine sheds for years."

The Thin Controller looked all over Smudger, then he walked up to Madge's front end, "that's a great find that you found," he smiled, "now, I would like you to take Smudger to the steamworks. I'm sure that he'll be a welcome addition to our railway family."

"Right away sir," smiled Madge, "did you hear that Smudger? You're going to be given your second chance at long last!"

Smudger was so thrilled to hear that, "if I had steam in my boiler, I would blow my whistle for joy!"

Madge smiled and honked her horn for him, as she drove off to the steamworks.

Victor and the workmen worked hard to restore the little engine, which wasn't easy, but after two and a half months, Smudger was finally ready to go to his new home...but I mustn't say anymore, for now anyways.


	14. The New and Improved Smudger

_**The New and Improved Smudger**_

When Smudger arrived at the sheds, he thought that the other engines would say 'welcome to our railway!' He was sad to see that they weren't in the best of moods and didn't look too happy to see him.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"I think you know what you did," scoffed Sir Handel rudely, "your stupid actions brought your own downfall on the old railway."

"You should've been left there," sniffed Duncan, "we know about your troublesome behaviour."

"You better behave yourself," advised Duke, "our eyes are always watching, so you better listen for once."

Smudger felt hurt, and remained quietly throughout the rest of the night. He once again felt like lonely like he did for all those years behind the old engine shed.

The following morning, Smudger was sent off to work at the incline. Sakura the little Cheery Blossom Engine was there too.

"Here we go," Smudger muttered to himself.

"Hello there," she called, "am I ever glad to see you. There's a lot of slate trucks that need moving today and we do need the help of a strong engine like yourself."

Smudger smiled happily, it was clear to him that Sakura wasn't like the other engines.

Throughout the entire morning, Smudger worked very hard, moving slate trucks to the incline and taking away the loaded ones. Sakura was most impressed with Smudger's work performance, but she couldn't help but notice that he looked a little sad.

When the two engines were finally done with their work, Sakura pulled up alongside Smudger.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked kindly, "you seem to be a little sad."

Smudger sighed unhappily, "it's the other engines, they're being rude to me. I know I was a little troublesome before, but that gives them no reason to keep on treating me badly."

"Was it Sir Handel and Duncan that were bugging you? Cause if it is, don't take any notice, they'll soon stop once they see how useful you are."

"It is them, but it's also Granpuff."

Sakura was surprised, for as long as she's been a part of the Thin Controller's railway, she had never known Duke to ever show a lack of respect to another engine.

She watched as Smudger went back to work, she felt sorry for the little engine.

"Now I can see why Madge wanted to give him a second chance," she said out loud, "I wish that there was something we could do to help him."

"So do we," agreed her Driver, "but what can we do?"

Sakura didn't know, so she puffed sadly back to work.

As the days went by, the weather changed for the worst. Heavy rains caused floods in the valley, and would often cause 'erison' to the dirt or rocks under the railway tracks. The engines had to take extra great care as they puffed up and down the line.

Sakura had been wondering of how to help Smudger, but she couldn't come up with anything, so she decided to speak to someone about it.

When she came to the top station, she met up with Rusty and his train of workmen working on the lines beyond the station.

"Everything seems okay here," said Rusty, "but I fear that it could be worse on the coastal line."

"We'll take extra care there," said Sakura's Driver.

"Rusty," Sakura said quietly, "when you first came to the railway, did any of the engines treat you badly?"

"Only Duncan did, the others all seemed to like having me around, why?"

So Sakura explained about Duke's rude remarks to Smudger, as she had seen some of the rude things said during the night.

"It's not like Duke to say those mean things," Sakura said.

Even Rusty was surprised by what was just said, "maybe something was left unsettled between those two," he said out loud, "but from the many stories I have heard, Duke probably thinks that Smudger won't listen to him or anyone else."

"If that's the case," said Rusty's Driver, "it'll be up to Smudger to prove to Duke of how useful he could be, and that he can listen to orders."

Sakura certainly hoped that Smudger would get his chance. He certainly was going to get that chance, but not in a way that anybody thought.

Duke was out with the picnic train, normally he would talk about the good old days, but at this time, Duke hardly said a single word.

"Is there something wrong in your boiler?" asked his Driver.

"No," Duke said quietly, "it has nothing to do with my boiler, it's..."

Suddenly, without warning, Duke felt like he was sinking on his own line. The erison had caused some of the rocks of the coastal line to slip away, and now he was wheel deep in mud.

Duke's Driver threw his little engine into reserve, but it was no use, Duke was stuck fast.

"Oh tarnation!" Duke snapped.

"Ah Duke," said his Driver, "I think we better get you out of here, before the coastal line is washed away, along with us!"

Duke could see that his Driver was right, but there was nothing they could do. Duke's wheels were surronded by brown muck, which meant that he was going nowhere.

All hope seemed lost, that was until they heard a loud whistle in the distance. Duke knew the whistle, but he didn't seem excited.

"He's probably coming to laugh at me."

The engine coming towards Duke and his train was - Smudger! He could see that Duke was in deep trouble - literally.

"Not to worry Granpuff!" he called, "I'll soon have you out of there!"

Smudger's Driver moved his little engine to the last coach, then the fireman coupled him up.

"Okay Smudger, let's see what you can do!" said the Driver.

The reserver was thrown, Smudger tugged and pulled, pulled and tugged, but Duke seemed to really stuck. Smudger wasn't willing to give up, he knew that if the erison did what it was suppose to do, then Duke would become a lost engine again.

"Here goes," he puffed quietly.

Smudger's wheels spun furiously and his face was going red, but he didn't care about himself, he only cared about saving Duke.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" he panted and shouted at the same time.

At long last, Duke started to move backwards, moving slightly out of the mud. Smudger continued to pull, until he finally pulled Duke out of the mud, and to safety. Just in the nick of time too, as the erison finally washed that one part of the coastal line away.

Now with Duke free, both he and Smudger were able to bring the train back to the last station.

After the long day was done, Duke backed into the shed beside Smudger, who only looked down to his buffers.

"Listen Granpuff," Smudger started, "I know I have been a little troublesome back in the old days, and I can understand why you probably don't trust me. But you are looking at a brand new Smudger, and I hope that we can someday be friends."

"Smudger..."

"I know, what I did would never suit his grace."

"Actually, I was going to say that what I did would never suit his grace," Smudger looked over to Duke a little surprise, "I went a little too far in what I said about you. I thought that you would never change your ways, but after what you did today, I can say for sure that I was wrong."

"You Duke, you were wrong?" Smudger was in complete shock.

"Yes, even us old engines can mistakes every now and then. Anyhow, I am willing to let go of the past, and become your friend, if you promise to obey all the rules."

"You have my word," smiled Smudger, "I promise to be a really useful engine, and to please his grace."

Duke smiled happily, he thought that Smudger was going to stay true to his word.

For the next month and a half, Smudger did just that. He went up and down the line with his trucks or coaches, and would arrive on time. He did so good of a job that Sir Handel and Duncan were left shocked.

Over time, he was given a new number, which was the number '9'. Smudger never lets that go to his head, he knows better now than he did in the old days, even Duke had admit it.

"He might have been troublesome before," he once said to Peter Sam, "but he has made a great improvement, I'm sure his grace would be proud of him, just like I am."

Peter Sam only smiled happily, he knew that Duke was indeed right. As for Smudger, he's just happy to be running again and to finally be given his second chance.


	15. Donald and the Pea Soup Fog

_**Donald & the Pea Soup Fog**_

During the autumn season, thick fog comes down hard on the Island of Sodor, making it hard to see, especially in Misty Valley. Cyril the Fogman still does his job by placing the fog detenators on the rails. Then when an engine rolls over them, they will say "oh, that tickles my axles."

The Driver and fireman then slow their engine down and whistle to let Cyril know that they have been warned. He then replies back by waving a lattern up and down.

One evening, Donald and Douglas were having a private discussion in the sheds about the pea soup fog.

"I wanna want to go oot when there is pea soup fog," said Donald, "that could be a litta dangerous."

Billy had overheard everything, "what's pea soup?"

"Pea soup," said Henry, "is something that people eat, it's suppose to be really thick, which is why people often say that the fog is as thick as pea soup."

"Aye Henry," said Douglas, "Ye were right about that. We had all that back home in Scotland, right Donnie?"

"Right ye are," agreed Donald.

"That fog is really dangerous to travel through," said Neville, "I remember that one of my own mainland brothers once crashed into another train because he couldn't see through the pea soup fog."

"Then we better hope that the Fat Controller won't send us out in the fog," groaned Molly.

"Dinna wurry yourself Molly," said Donald, "as long as ye take care, then ye'll be fine."

If only Donald knew of what the next day was going to bring.

When the engines awoke the next morning, they awoke to find thick fog all around them.

"It's the pea soup fog," groaned Molly, "I can hardly see the tracks in front of me, I can't even see the turntable."

"I'm not worried about some silly fog," huffed Gordon, "I can puff through the fog with no trouble at all."

"Dinna rush Gordon," said Donald, "ye've gotta yourself into trouble before with the snow, ye dinna need tae repeat yourself, do ye?"

Gordon went into silence, while the rest of the engines looked out to the pea soup fog. One by one, they all went off to work, except for Donald and Douglas. Their drivers were placing their special lamps onto their front ends.

"I have a feeling that we might into trouble," said Douglas' Driver.

"Not if we take care out there," said Donald's fireman.

"Och Aye!" agreed the twins.

Still, Douglas' Driver still had his doubts. Once the fires were built inside the fireboxs, Donald and Douglas left, one by one to the yards to collect their trains.

Every morning, two engines are to take coal trucks across the Island and fill up the coal bunkers at all the stations. These boxes at the stations help to prevent the steam engines from stalling out on the line. The job is usually given to Charlie and BoCo, but they were busy elsewhere today, so the job was given to the Scottish twins.

"Watch yourselves out there," called the yard manager, "and watch the trucks, they don't like to be loaded with coal."

"Dinna fesh yerself," said Donald, "these trucks will nae wurry us, we can handle 'em."

"We knaw how to keep 'em in order," said Douglas.

With their trucks coupled up, Donald and Douglas puffed onto the open lines. Douglas went along on the main lines, while Donald went down some of the branch lines.

Donald's first stop was the junction for Thomas' branch line, Rosie was waiting there for Donald to show up.

"Thanks for getting the trucks here," she said, "we've been needing more coal for our stations."

Then, Donald stopped at the junction for Edward's branch line. Edward was there to collect the coal trucks from Donald, "thank you very much for the coal, Donald," said Edward.

"Ye're welcome Edward," smiled the scottish engine, "well, I'd love to stay and chat, but we have to go to the litta western."

"Take great care out there," advised Edward, "the fog seems to be getting thicker by the minute."

"I can see what ye mean," said Donald, "don't ye wurry aboot us, we'll do our best tae be careful."

Once Edward was coupled up to his trucks, Donald puffed on his way again, then the blue tender engine puffed away for other destinations on his branch line.

It didn't take too long for Donald to drop off the coal trucks at the main station of the Little Western. After his delivery was made, Donald puffed off towards Misty Valley.

As he puffed into the valley, he found out that the fog was thicker there than anywhere else.

"Easy does it, Donald!" cried his Driver.

Donald's speed was brought down a little bit, but even at the slow pace they were going, Donald was starting to grow nervous.

"Nothin' tae wurry aboot, nothin' tae wurry aboot," Donald puffed to himself.

They weren't too far into the valley, when Donald felt several blasts under his wheels. It was Cyril's detentators. The Driver was about to slow Donald down, when from out of nowhere - Donald went crashing into something hard!

"Och, whats happened?" Donald cried.

"I'm not sure," said the Driver.

Then they heard some footsteps coming their way, it was Cyril.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked as he walked over to the cab.

"We're fine," said Donald's fireman, "although, I think Donald is stuck."

"He is stuck," Cyril looked over to Donald's front end, "there was a small rockslide earlier, I tried to warn you with the detanators, but I guess they didn't help. Don't worry though, I'll go phone for help, and make sure that no other trains will go crashing into you."

Cyril was true to his word, he placed more detenators on the tracks, then he called down the line to inform the signalman to stop any trains coming through. Then he called for help.

In less than thirty minutes, the fog was starting to lift and Terence the Tractor could be seen chugging up beside Donald's train.

"Don't you worry yourself Donald," called Terence, "we'll soon have you out of this mess in no time."

First, Terence took away some of the trucks, then when Harvey finally arrived to put the de-railed trucks back onto the rails, Terence took them away. Finally, his operator got out a long chain and coupled it to Donald's tender.

"Alright Terence," said his operator, "here we go! Are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

Terence tugged and pulled, pulled and tugged - it was hard work, but he was finally able to pull Donald out of the rockslide.

"Thank yoo Terence," called Donald.

"It was my pleasure," smiled the orange tractor, "to be honest with you, this is the first railway rescue I've been called to in years, it sure felt great."

Donald was lucky to not have suffered any damage, so he was able to get back to work. After he and Douglas were done with the coal deliveries, they went back to work, doing either the passenger runs or goods traffic.

By the end of the day, the twins met up at the washdown, where Donald told Douglas everything about the accident.

"Canna be helped," said Douglas, "that accident wis bound to happen, ye dinna see a single thing."

"Aye," agreed Donald, "it's lucky that we were goin' slow, otherwise, it could've been wurse."

"Och aye," Douglas agreed happily, "now, do ye wanna hear somethin'? Do ye remember what yon Gordon said this mornin' aboot racin' through the fog? Well, he actually got himself into a minor accident."

"Whit happened?"

"He was tae take a load of fish vans oot of the docks, but he went flyin' past yon Cranky and Salty, before crashin' into the vans of fish."

Donald chuckled slightly, "ye're lucky to not have any damage," Douglas continued, "ye were takin' care, while Gordon wasna."

"Ye're right Douggie, we were lucky."

Even though he never said it, Donald wishes to never have another accident like that again, and has his crew promise to never bring in any pea soup for lunch. As he said, "if I see yon stuff, it'll be too soon for me."

I don't think Donald likes Pea Soup or Pea Soup fog, what do you think?


	16. Double Stacked Trouble

_**Double-Stacked Trouble**_

There are lots of trucks on the Fat Controller and the Thin Controller's railway. There are coal trucks, like Hector, they are used to carry lots of coal from one place to another. Vans are used to carry crates, flatbeds can carry pipes, machines or anything too long for other trucks to carry. Tankers are used to carry liquids like fuel and water, cattle trucks are used to carry live stock from one place to another as well. Then there is the brake van, like Toad, along with the guard, these vans are used to keep the train under control.

As every engine on the Island knows, there are some trucks that you can't trust, except for Hector and Toad. It doesn't matter if they are old or young, trucks can be troublesome.

One morning, the Fat Controller came to Tidmouth Sheds to speak with his engines.

"Today," he began, "we're to be getting a brand new set of trucks, these are called car-carriers, these will be used to take cars and lorries over the railway, if they are needed at their destinations a little faster. Now Henry, I would like you to test these new trucks and see how well they run, if they do a good job, then they will be used again."

"Yes sir," smiled Henry.

"Be careful as ye go," advised Douglas, "trucks will be trucks, and the litta buggers can cause trouble."

"Not all of 'em," objected Donald, "yon Hector isna a bad truck, and neither is yon Toad."

"Too true," said Oliver, "I've worked with both of them many times, and they don't cause any trouble for me."

"I wasna talkin' aboot 'em," said Douglas, "I knaw they are good auld trucks, I was talkin' aboot the other kinds of trucks. Ye knaw how the auld saying goes 'Every wise engine shouldna trust yon trucks."

"I'm sure you'll do fine Henry," said Oliver, "just biff them if they cause trouble."

"I know that," Henry chuckled as he puffed away.

Once Henry was out of sight, the Fat Controller gave out the rest of the jobs for the day, Douglas was to go to work with the workmen at Henry's tunnel, which was in need of repairs, while Donald and Oliver were to work together at the chute on the Little Western.

Henry soon arrived at the docks to find five empty car carrier trucks, Salty was just shunting them together.

"Ahoy Captain!" he called, "you're very lucky to be testing out these new trucks."

"Are they behaving themselves?" Henry asked nervously.

"Aye they are," Salty smiled, "so far so good. Anyways, I want to wish you good luck with your run today."

Henry smiled, then he looked over to the trucks, they were indeed bigger than what he had thought. Still, he had a job to do, so once his Driver had him switched over to the line of trucks and got him coupled to them, Henry puffed away down the line.

At first, the journey was going well. The boogie wheels on the car carriers were giving off a smooth ride, and the trucks never once complained.

"This is too easy, this is too easy," Henry puffed to himself, "we'll be at the big station before too long."

That would have been trouble, had it not been for one location...

Douglas was waiting outside of the tunnel, while the workmen were working inside of it.

"It's a good thing that they're working on the tunnel," said Douglas' Driver, "there have been too many reports coming in about rocks in the tunnel falling on coaches and engines."

The workmen were just coming out, when they suddenly heard an engine's whistle.

"It sounds like Henry," said Douglas' fireman.

Douglas' whistle was blown to warn Henry, "he's sure tae hear the warnin'," Douglas thought to himself.

That wasn't the case however, Henry was thinking about what to say to the Fat Controller about the smooth running of the trucks that he didn't hear the warning.

"Slow down!" cried Douglas and the workmen together.

Henry didn't hear the warnings, until it was too late! Henry could see the tunnel coming into view, his Driver put the brakes hard on, but the trucks saw this as a chance to play some tricks.

"Push! Push! Push!" they shouted.

They surged into Henry's tender with a bang and went charging towards the enterance. The first truck saw it coming and tried to tell the others, but it was too late! Henry went into the tunnel and the first truck went crashing into the enterance with a loud crunch of metal!

"What happened?" Henry asked.

His Driver looked back, "I don't believe it, the trucks are too tall for this tunnel. This one has crashed into the enterance of your tunnel and..." he looked up to a rumbling sound, "by the sounds of it, the roof is going to cave in."

"Oh no!" cried Henry, "let's get out of here!"

Henry's Driver threw his engine into reserve, but the train wouldn't move - the first truck was jammed in tight.

"Dinna wurry yourself Henry, I'm comin'!"

Douglas was backed down the line, then he was switched over to Henry's line. Douglas' fireman then climbed down and coupled up to the brake van.

"Be careful Douglas," called Henry, "one wrong slip and this whole tunnel can crash on me!"

"Like I said, dinna wurry yourself!"

With a powerful blast of Douglas' whistle, the scottish engine began to pull with every ounce of his strength he had. Henry pushed too, but the truck was stuck fast.

"Hurry! Hurry!" cried Henry.

"Doin' my best! Doin' my best!" shouted Douglas.

"Keep going Henry! Keep going Douglas!" shouted the workmen.

That's just what the two engines did, their wheels slipped furiously, their smoke was turning dark grey and their faces were turning as red as James' paint. Then finally, the truck began to move, inch by inch.

"You're almost out! You're almost out!" shouted the workmen.

Then there was trouble, the roof was still unsteady and was ready to finally cave in. Rocks began to fall on Henry, and thick smoke could seen coming out from the tunnel!

"Dinna stop!" shouted Douglas, "keep it goin'!"

The two engines still refused to give up, then at last, Henry's front truck came out like a cork popping out of a bottle. The men cheered loudly and Henry sighed in relief.

"Thank you Douglas, I would have been stuck without your help."

"Think nothin' of it," smiled the scottish engine, "just glad tae help ye oot of that tunnel."

Then they looked back to the tunnel, only to find dozens of rocks blocking the line.

When the Fat Controller heard the news, he ordered for the tunnel to be rebuilt and for the first truck to be fixed at the regular works at once. The trucks were taught a valuable lesson from Douglas when he brought them to the yards.

"Behave yerselves!" he said angerily, "otherwise, Donnie and I will teach ye a lesson like we did tae a certain yon brake van."

The trucks promised to behave themselves at once.

"Sounds like you two have had an interesting week," said Neville, "first came the incident in Misty Valley, and now the tunnel incident."

"Yeah, we've had some interestin' surprises come this week," said Donald, "but doesna everyone?"

The other engines agreed to that.

"Anyhow," said Douglas, "the tunnel isna only being fixed, but it's also bein' made bigger to handle the newer trucks."

"So somethin' like tis willna happen again," smiled Donald.

Just as the scottish engines had said, the tunnel was made to handle the taller trucks, even Hector could now roll through it without trouble.

Henry was let off with a warning, but he was forgiven since it was the trucks who caused the accident.

For Donald and Douglas, the minor accidents and incidents were surprising, but they were still felt happy to be on Sodor and to be part of the Fat Controller's family of engines.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by several stories I had heard about tall machines crashing into the enterance of a tunnel, mostly cause the tunnel wasn't built for them and the enterance was too low.


	17. Start of Something Terrible

_**Start of Something Terrible**_

Just like the Fat Controller's Railway, the little narrow gauge engines have a few old and wise engines running on their line. Fearless Freddie is fast on the puff and is resourceful, he could tell you about the old lines he used in the olden days and he will talk about the many races he has been in.

Duke the Brown Engine is another perfect example, he's quite an old engine and knows what he is talking about. He often gives advice to the younger unexperienced engines and will let them know when they are doing something wrong by saying, "That would never suit his Grace."

But there are two engines that are really famous, mostly cause they've been on the railway for over one hundred years. These are numbers 'one' and 'two', otherwise known as Skarloey and Rheneas. They are the best of friends, although at times they call each other brothers. They often say this because they were built at the same time, and in the same shop.

One morning, Skarloey was working at the incline railway with Smudger. Smudger was quite glad to be working with Skarloey, he had heard great things about the little old engine.

"You've done well today," Skarloey said kindly, "have you ever worked at an incline before?"

"A few times," Smudger answered quietly, "the old railway once had an incline like this one, only a little smaller. From what I heard from Granpuff, the old incline was closed a couple of years before the line was closed down."

"Your railway was lucky to have one, we didn't when we first started off."

Smudger looked on interested, "then how did you do this kind of work without an incline."

"We pushed the trucks up by ourselves, but even back then...trucks were fairly new and shunting was something strange to Rheneas and myself. Tell you what, when our crews have their break, then I'll tell you about our beginning."

"It's a deal," smiled Smudger.

Although he was excited, Smudger worked hard and never made a mistake. Then when the crews were on their break, then that was the time for Skarloey to tell the story.

Over a hundred years ago, after Skarloey, Rheneas and their twins were made, they were sent off to their new homes. Skarloey was sent first, he had a bit of a rough start and Mister Mack, the first Thin Controller, had shut him up under a tarbpulain, then in the shed. After a while though, Skarloey learned to be careful.

When Rheneas arrived, he didn't cause too many mistakes, and was always there to help Skarloey, even after he got stuck in the mud while pulling a passenger train.

At first, the two engines had four driving wheels and no cabs, but after a while, the two engines were given their own cabs and Skarloey was given a new set of back wheels.

One morning, Mister Mack came to the sheds to see his two engines.

"Skarloey, I want you to take the passenger train today, and Rheneas, you are to shunt trucks in the yards, then I want you to take a goods train to the new middle station."

"Yes sir," said the two engines.

Once he was out of sight, Rheneas started to sulk, "why are you taking the passenger train, you're bound to make the passengers cross with your rough riding, kids especially."

"You're one to talk," sniffed Skarloey cheekily, "you'd probably treat the coaches like trucks."

Once he had a good head of steam, Skarloey puffed out of the sheds, only to hear Rheneas call "Watch out for mud as you go along, unless you like being a 'stick-in-the-mud'."

Skarloey simply ignored Rheneas and puffed off for his train.

The coaches behaved themselves for once that morning, Skarloey thought that the journey was going to be a smooth run. He pulled smoothly into the station, where lots of passengers could be seen.

"Hello and welcome to our railway," Skarloey smiled happily, then he noticed a young boy with his mother, "wherever you want to go, we'll be sure to get you there, that's my promise."

"I want to ride the nice train Mommy!" he said happily.

"Okay honey," she chuckled quietly, "just give me a minute to get our tickets."

She asked Skarloey's crew if they could watch over her child, they happily agreed to look after him. While the mother was getting the tickets, the Driver and fireman showed the young boy how they operate their engine.

When the mother returned, she thanked Skarloey's crew for their help.

"It's our pleasure," they said, "we're always glad to help."

The boy and his mother walked over to the coaches and sat down on the nice comfortable seats. Then once all the passengers were ready to go, the guard blew his whistle, then Mister Bobbie, who was Skarloey's Driver, opened the regulator and Skarloey puffed away.

The journey was indeed starting out to be a good one, the sun was shining, Skarloey had a good head of steam, the coaches were behaving themselves and there was wonderful scenery around them.

"It's going to be a good day," thought Skarloey happily to himself.

That would have been true, had it not been for one problem...

Rheneas had worked a little faster than he normally would, and now he was puffing out of the yards with a goods train.

"Are you sure that we're allowed to leave at this time?" asked the Driver, "isn't there suppose..."

"We'll be okay," Rheneas insisted, "I'm sure that we'll make it to the new middle station before Skarloey."

The Driver and fireman was still unsure, but they did agree to go on. Surprising enough, Rheneas did make it to the middle station in record timing.

"Very good," smiled the stationmaster, "you sure are a quick little engine."

Rheneas felt very pleased with this, that he puffed away, unaware that he had been switched over to another line. He was due to find the problem soon enough, as he saw Skarloey coming his way.

"Look out!" cried Rheneas.

His Driver blew the whistle and slammed on the brakes. Skarloey and Mister Bobbie could see them coming, they blew their whistle and put the brakes on. When they did, the coaches' buffers went bashing into each other.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted this engine," said one of the coaches, "let's pay him out!"

And that's just what they did, they bashed into Skarloey's back end and started pushing further down the line.

"HELP!" cried Skarloey.

Thankfully, a quick thinking shunter that was working nearby did do something. He changed the points and Skarloey went charging down an unfinished siding.

Skarloey ran on down the siding and went crashing into the mud, thankfully the forceful jerk had seperated him from the coaches, who were stopped by the guard's hand brakes.

Rheneas came to a stop alongside the muddy Skarloey.

"I thought you weren't going to be a stick in the mud anymore," Rheneas said cheekily.

Skarloey didn't laugh, he was cross, "what's the big idea coming down my line?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," snapped Rheneas in protest, "I was due to come through here."

"No you weren't," snapped Skarloey, "you were suppose to take a different line, I was due to come through on this line with my passenger train. I think you came down my line to make me look like a stick in the mud, isn't that right?"

Rheneas was shocked, "I most certainly did not! I would never do that!"

This started an argument between the two engines, until Mister Bobbie stopped all the fighting. Rheneas went back down the line to get help, and soon, workmen had lifted Skarloey back to the rails, and he was able to complete his journey.

Although from that moment onwards, neither Skarloey or Rheneas spoke to each other, they would simply ignore each other.

Smudger was in shock to hear all this, "I never thought that you and Rheneas were cheeky or ever start an argument with each other."

Skarloey chuckled, "Well, Rheneas and I were young engines during that time, so it was possible."

"So, did you and Rheneas patch things up the next day?"

Before Skarloey could answer, his Driver had returned from his lunch, "alright old boy," he said, "time to get back to work."

"Of course sir," smiled Skarloey. His Driver opened the regulator, and Skarloey puffed off to work, while Smudger was left wondering of what happened next...but that's for the next story.


	18. Ice Anyone?

_**Ice Anyone?**_

Far away from the incline railway, Rheneas was pulling some doubleheader passenger trains with Sakura. They were having a lovely day, and just like Skarloey was doing, Rheneas had just finished telling Sakura about the little fight that had gone on when he and Skarloey were younger.

"It must've been terrible," Sakura sighed as they puffed along, "you probably felt lonely without Skarloey to talk to."

"I did," said Rheneas, "but I would have admitted something like that, at least, not in front of Skarloey or Mister Mack. And so, the fighting went on for a long time, mostly cause I was a little stubborn."

"How long did you two fight?"

"At least four months by my count, it is a long time I know, but that's the way things were. However, come winter, something happened that changed everything..."

And this was the story Rheneas told...

It was a very cold morning, Rheneas was backing slowly to the coaches, cause it was his turn to take the passengers. When Skarloey puffed past on his way to collect his goods train, he shot Rheneas a nasty look, and Rheneas did the same.

As the day progressed, Rheneas forgot all about Skarloey. Despite it being cold outside, the run threw the countryside was grand. Although, Rheneas' fireman didn't agree to that.

"It's freezing cold outside," he complained, "and yet, here I am sweating."

The Driver chuckled quietly, but said nothing back to the fireman.

"It's cold, it's cold," grumbled the coaches.

"I'm sorry dears," called Rheneas, "but there is nothing I can do about it, we still have a few more passengers to collect later, then we can go back to the sheds."

At the next station, Rheneas' crew were looking over their engine, while Rheneas himself was listening to some children talking about a stationmaster's good deed.

"He actually found a little puppy stuck on the tracks," said one of the children, "he got to work quickly, just five minutes before the train was due to come through. He got the puppy off the tracks in time, then he gave the little puppy to a nice family who promised to look after it."

"That stationmaster sure is a kind man," said one of the other children.

Rheneas was quick to agree with the children. Once Rheneas' crew were back on board, the guard blew the whistle, and Rheneas started slowly for the journey home.

"What a lovely day, oh what a lovely day," Rheneas smiled to himself, "this is one journey that we'll never forget."

That was going to be true, as Rheneas was due to find out.

The train soon arrived at the new middle station, Rheneas' Driver went inside, along with the passengers to get something warm to drink, while the fireman stayed with the train.

Rheneas could feel a cold blast of wind blow into his face, "brr," he shivered, "it's mighty cold out."

"I wish I could feel the cold," said his fireman, "I'm still sweating in here with all the shovelling I'm doing."

Neither one of them noticed that a young boy, who had a bucket of water in his hands, was walking beside the coaches. He had a sneaky idea. He began to spill water on the coaches' wheels.

"Oh!" they groaned, "That's cold!"

"I know it's cold!" called Rheneas, "don't worry, we'll get going soon."

The boy snickered quietly to himself, "this will be fun," he thought to himself, "if they think I'll leave when they want me to, then they are wrong."

The boy continued with his sneaky plan, then he threw the bucket away and ran back into the third coach.

Soon, the passengers and Rheneas' Driver returned with some hot chocolate.

"Want some?" asked the Driver, "there's enough in this cup."

"Very funny," said the fireman sarcastically.

When all the passengers were back on board, and the guard had blown his whistle, Rheneas began to puff away - only to his surprise, he wasn't going anywhere.

His wheels were turning forward, but the coaches wouldn't move an inch.

"What's wrong?" he cried as he tried to pull the train along.

The Driver brought Rheneas to a stop, then he and the fireman climbed down from the cab to find out what the problem was. It didn't take them too long.

"What's the problem?" asked the guard, who was walking up to them.

"It's ice," said the Driver, "somehow, someway, ice has gotten itself attached to the wheels, because of this, the wheels can't turn. That's why we couldn't go anywhere."

"It was a vandal!" cried one of the coaches, "a small boy."

"He poured water onto our wheels with a bucket."

The fireman soon found the bucket beside the line, it was empty, but it did have some ice in it, which meant that there was water in there before.

"Whoever caused this hold-up..." began the Driver, but he couldn't finish. The boy that had caused the hold-up had run out of the coach and was now running towards the lake.

"Time to skate," he chuckled to himself.

His plan almost worked, but he didn't get far, as he crashed into the stationmaster and fell to the platform. The stationmaster helped him back up to his feet, then he brought the boy over to where the Driver, fireman and the guard were.

"I saw this little sneak pour the water onto the coaches' wheels," said the stationmaster, "he's responsible for the hold-up."

"That's him, that's him," cried the coaches.

"Why did you do it?" asked the Driver, who was looking cross.

"I thought it would be funny," said the boy, "besides, I wanted to stay here and skate, not ride the train to the end of the line with my brother."

His bigger brother showed up, he looked cross, "you're always causing trouble," he said angerily, "just wait till our parents hear of what you have done, they won't be too happy."

"Now," said the Driver, "what are we going to do about the wheels?"

"I've got the answer," said the fireman, then he walked off back to the cab. He came back in a couple of minutes, with a huge piece of coal on the shovel, "we'll use the fire to melt the ice."

"Okay," said the guard, "but be careful."

The fireman was careful, he held onto the shovel in a steady way until the ice was off the wheels. Once that was done, Rheneas was able to puff away, he was sure that Skarloey was never going to let him hear the end of it.

When they were in the sheds, Rheneas was surprised to see that Skarloey wasn't teasing him, he was being kind to Rheneas.

"It wasn't your fault," Skarloey said kindly, "it was that boy, it could've happened to the best of us."

"Thanks for saying that."

"And," Skarloey continued, "I think this stupid arguing has gone on for too long, I really miss talking to you."

Rheneas smiled, "I really missed talking with you too, but why now?"

"Well, after I heard about what happened to you, I didn't feel like teasing you, I felt sorry for you. That there was more than enough prove to know that our fight has gone on for too long. So what do you say, do you want to be my friend again?"

"Yes," smiled Rheneas, "I would like to be your friend again."

Skarloey felt happy at once, "oh, and I've been wondering what happened to the boy?"

"Well, last I heard, his brother and his parents gave him a stern talking to, by the sounds of it, it didn't sound very nice."

Sakura smiled happily, "I'm glad to hear that you two were able to patch things up, it's better to be friends and working happily together, then to be sad and alone."

"That's right," Rheneas happily agreed.

He sighed happily to himself, remembering back to the day where it took one troublemaking boy and some 'ice' on wheels to bring his friendship with Skarloey back on track.


	19. Katie the Terrible

_**Katie the Terrible**_

After the long working day was done, the little engines were returning to their sheds, they were tired, but they felt proud to have been busy. All, except for Sir Handel.

"I'm overworked," he complained, "I'm taking too many passengers all across the line, do they think we've got nothing better to do than to take them from place to place?"

"You shouldn't complain about your work," said Peter Sam, "you should be grateful. Remember on our old line when we had no passengers? We closed down."

"Besides," Duncan grumbled, "you're lucky to be taking passengers, I'm stuck with trucks."

"Pah!" sniffed Sir Handel, "you just don't get it Duncan. The Thin Controller is always giving me jobs that I don't want to do, and I don't like it."

Skarloey could hear everything from his part of the shed, "you know Sir Handel," he said, "you almost remind me of the original number three."

Sir Handel looked over to Skarloey a little surprised, "you mean there was another engine that had my number long before Peter Sam and I came here?"

"Yes indeed," said Rheneas, "it was a long time ago though."

"So, what happened to the original number three?"

"Please tell us," said some of the other little engines. Even Duke, Fearless Freddie and Smudger wanted to hear about it.

"Go ahead Skarloey," Rheneas called, "you can tell them." Skarloey agreed, and began to tell the story of the original number three.

When Skarloey and Rheneas were in their twenties, they were handling the work nicely, and with each day that passed, the two engines got a little more wiser.

One morning, Mister Mack, the first Thin Controller, came to see the two engines.

"I am very proud of all the work you have been doing over the last twenty years, but now the time has come for a new engine to come help with the work on this line," he paused, he was looking worried, "take care around her, I haven't heard great things about her."

"We'll do our best to help her," said Skarloey, but he was worried, and so was Rheneas.

When the new engine arrived, they had every reason to be worried, mostly cause she had a very sour look upon her face. She had two front wheels, six driving wheels, and two back wheels. She had a tall funnel, big wide cab, big water tanks on the side and she also had a cowcatcher. She had the number three below her coal bunker and a nameplate on the side of the tanks, which read 'Katie'.

"Welcome to our railway," Rheneas said kindly, "I'm Rheneas and this is my brother, Skarloey. If you want, we could show you around the yards."

"Pah!" she sniffed, "I don't need help from small engines like you two!"

Skarloey and Rheneas were shocked by this, "there's no need to be rude," said Skarloey firmly, "we were only trying to be friendly."

Katie said nothing more to the two little engines, and she puffed away, light engine.

"It's no surrpise really," said Skarloey's Driver, "she's always been a rude engine, and she doesn't do her jobs properly, hence why she's been sold from one railway to another."

Rheneas' Driver was quick to agree, "she's not only bad to engines, coaches and trucks, but she's rude to people too. She doesn't care about anyone but herself, which is why people call her 'Katie the Terrible'."

As time went on, the two engines and their crews discovered that Katie did indeed have a terrible attitude towards everyone else, which also included the trucks and the dear old coaches.

"Don't be so rough, don't be so rough," the coaches cried.

"Who's pulling the train here?" she snapped, "you are to do what I tell you what I say! So be quiet!"

The coaches did go quiet, but they were upset. They weren't alone, the passengers were cross whenever Katie was pulling the train.

She would be warned by Mister Mack to not bash the coaches, or he would have to give her a punishment for her reckless acts. Despite it all, Katie would not change her ways, she thought that she was the best engine on the railroad, and she thought she knew best.

Katie's attitude would've stayed the same for the few years that she was on the railroad. Then one winter, Katie was going to get a lesson, like it or not.

On a cold winter's morning, she was waiting for Skarloey to shunt the coaches into place, when Mister Mack arrived with a change in plans.

"Skarloey is to take the passengers today," he said, "and Katie, you are to take a goods train."

"Why?" she asked angerily, "why should I pull goods trains while Skarloey pulls the passenger train?"

"Mostly cause you're stronger than either Skarloey or Rheneas," he said, "that's why you're pulling the goods train."

Katie only sulked and gave Skarloey a nasty look, then she puffed away once her crew was ready.

Soon, Katie was out on the line, she was pounding the rails and speeding a little too fast.

"Easy does it girl!" cried her Driver, "you need to slow down!"

"No need to slow down!" she said confidently, "I know what I am doing, so stop worrying! Besides, I want to get away from this job as soon as possible, then I can do a job that I like!"

"With you making all the decisions, I'm sure we're going to run into trouble."

Katie only sniffed crossly. If only she had listened, then what happened next, wouldn't have happened. There was trouble up ahead on the line, a bridge was out and there was a huge creak there.

The Driver saw the gap ahead and applied the brakes, but with Katie's speed and the trucks behind them, Katie wasn't going to be able to stop. The Driver and fireman jumped out of the cab and landed on the snow, while their engine went flying off the tracks and into the freezing cold water.

"OH!" she cried, "it's cold!"

Six of the trucks she had been pulling had fallen into the water with her, they groaned too at being in the frozen water.

The Driver and fireman had to go back to the last station to call for help. Within thirty minutes, Rheneas arrived, but there was a problem...

"We can't lift her out of the water!" cried one of the workmen, "at least, not until the water gets warmer."

When Mister Mack was informed of this, he closed that one section until the spring rolled around. Skarloey and Rheneas were able to keep the line going, and for anyone who came by during that time, they were pleased with the two engines.

Once spring had come, Skarloey was brought to the site of where Katie was, she was soaked, rusted and covered in mud. It took a long time to get Katie back to the rails, and a long while to bring her back to the yards, where Mister Mack was waiting.

"Well done Skarloey," he said, "now, I want you to take the workmen to build the new bridge."

"Right away sir," said Skarloey as he backed away to collect the trucks.

Mister Mack then turned his attention over to Katie, "I always knew you were a troublemaker," he said sternly, "for the few years you've been here, you've caused us nothing but trouble, I am most disappointed in you."

"Sorry sir," mumbled Katie under the mud, "I'll be good, I promise."

"I'm sorry Katie," said Mister Mack, "you're not going to get another chance from me, I'm sending you back to where you came from. They will decide on your punishment."

Katie didn't like the sound of that, she was now worried.

"What happened to her?" Peter Sam asked.

Skarloey paused before continuing, "Rheneas and I are not completely sure of what happened to her, last we heard, she was sent back to her old line that she came from before she was brought here."

"We heard that she was scrapped after her return," said Rheneas, "although, she might also be a pumping engine like Smudger was."

"We're not enterily sure," said Skarloey, "so you see Sir Handel, do you get the message of what we were talking about?"

"Yes, I do," he sighed, "I shouldn't complain about my work, and I should grateful to be working on this railway. I promise I won't complain about my jobs again."

"That, we would like to see," Duncan chuckled.

Sir Handel shot him a dirty look, while Skarloey and Rheneas looked out to the yards, remembering back to when Katie was on their line, and wondering what happened to her. I wonder if Katie is still in surface to this day, what do you think?


	20. Rise From the Ashes

_**Rise from the Ashes**_

Duncan spoke up after a while, "it's a good thing that Katie was sent back," he huffed, "I certainly wouldn't want to work with her."

"At least we know why she was called 'Katie the Terrible'," said Peter Sam, then he looked back over to Skarloey, "it must've been harder for you two though, without Katie around, you probably had to do the jobs all alone."

"We did," Skarloey sighed, "but Rheneas and I did our best. We would get some help from other engines, that was until we were in our fifties, do you remember that, Rheneas?"

"I remember, those were tough times."

"Wasn't that just before Peter Sam and I came here?" Sir Handel asked.

"Not really, it was many years before you two came here," answered Skarloey, "as you know, we were going threw some rough times during those days, Rheneas and I had to work hard, otherwise our line would have closed."

"It's terrible," groaned Sakura.

"Although," Rheneas continued from where Skarloey left off, "there was the one day when we were nearly beaten by trucks and our line would've closed down."

And before the engines could ask, "could you tell us about it?" The old engines began to tell their story...

As the two old engines said, their line was going threw hard times. They had to work hard to keep the trains running, otherwise they would close down. To prevent lose of costumers, Rheneas and Skarloey would often take mixed trains.

Mixed trains are a mixture between coaches and the trucks, but engines and crews had to be careful with trucks. If the trucks are bumped, they will bump back, then the coaches would take their wrath out on the engines and their crews. This would also meant that complaints would go to the Thin Controller, which wasn't a good thing.

So Skarloey and Rheneas had to take extra care with their trains and were careful to never bump their trucks.

One morning, the Thin Controller came to the sheds to see the two engines, Mister Mack had retired many years ago and so did Mister Bobbie, so they had someone else in charge of the line.

"We have some important guests coming to visit our railway today," he was saying, "they are the railway board, they will decide if our line is going to stay open, or if it's finally ready to close down."

The engines looked dismayed.

"Don't look so worried," said the Thin Controller, "I know you two will please them, you've done so many times before since I took over the line, and even back to when Mister Mack was in charge of the line."

That made the two engines and their crews fell a bit better.

"Now, I need to decide on which one of you two will take the special train."

"Skarloey," said Rheneas, "why don't you take the train?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure, I can do the rest of the work alone."

"Okay then," said the Thin Controller, "that's how it's going to be, unless Skarloey has any objections."

"Not at all," he said, "thank you Rheneas."

Rheneas replied back with a wink. Skarloey blew his whistle happily, then he 'clanked' his way out of the sheds and over to the yards. Reason for the clanking was because the engines haven't been to the works for years, they were in need of some repairs.

Skarloey spent a short period of time arranging his train, which was to be a mixed train. He was very careful with the coaches and trucks as he shunted them into place.

Once they had the train ready, they puffed onto the first station of the line.

When they arrived, they found the gentleman of the railway board, they were all looking very serious.

"We'll do it, we'll do it," Skarloey puffed quietly to himself, "Rheneas and I have done so for fifty years already, there's no reason why we can't do so again."

"Agreed," smiled the Driver, who was looking back to the coaches, "we'll do our best and prove that we should stay open."

It was a good plan, but the trucks didn't think so, "we don't want to 'nice'," they said to each other, "when we reach Culdee Fell hill, we'll do what we do best..."

They were cut off in mid sentence, cause the guard had blown his whistle and waved his green flag. Skarloey responded with a blow of his whistle, and the train began it's journey to the last station of the line.

The journey was a good one, Skarloey puffed along at a nice and easy pace, the coaches hummered cheerfully behind him, and the gentlemen of the railway board were writing notes in their books.

Soon enough, they reached the bottom of Culdee Fell hill. It was one of the steepiest lines of the railroad, it was here that back engines were required if the first engine has a long heavy train.

Skarloey's train wasn't that long, so the Driver and fireman thought they could make it up without trouble, but they were soon to be proven wrong - by the trucks.

"This is it," said the lead truck, "let's have some fun boys!"

"Hold back, hold back, hold back!" they cried.

They slipped their brakes and held back Skarloey's entire train. The gentlemen of the railway board were surprised by this. Skarloey didn't give up, his wheels turned, and turned, and turned, but even he wasn't able to pull the train up.

"We have to get to the top, we have to get to the top," Skarloey panted quietly.

It was then that the train started to roll back to the bottom, Skarloey felt that he had let the railway down. That was until - they felt the train stop.

"What's happening?" he asked.

His Driver looked back, and chuckled happily, "it's Rheneas," he called, "he's pushing behind us!"

He was indeed correct, Rheneas had just finished his shunting duties and was now taking two coaches and a guard's van to the last station. Now, he was pushing behind the train with all his might.

"I'll push, you pull!" he cried.

Skarloey agreed to the plan, and so, the two engines battled their way to the top.

"Hold back, hold back!" cried the stupid trucks, "make them stop! Make them stop!"

"Pull harder, push harder, pull harder! Push harder, pull harder, push harder!" shouted the two engines together.

The trucks continued with their silly antics, but they were proving to be useless aganist the strength of the two engines. They soon gave up their tricks, especially when they got to the top of the hill and down the other side in fine style.

The two engines puffed on their way with the steady pace made before, and before long, they reached the last station of the line, where the Thin Controller was waiting for them. They were a few minutes late, this made the engines worry a little.

The gentlemen of the railway board went to speak with the Thin Controller, they looked impressed.

"You are running a fine line," they said, "your two engines, Skarloey and Rheneas, have done a fantastic job, especially aganist the trucks. They kept on puffing till they reached the top of the hill, you must be proud of them."

"I am indeed," he smiled, then he looked to his two tired out engines, and winked to them. They didn't have any breath to reply back, so they winked right back at them, the Thin Controller knew what they meant to say.

And as a special treat, Skarloey and Rheneas were treated with a trip to the engine works, where they not only got repaints, but had some work done on them, so they could be ready for the next day's work.

"You two certainly were grand," said Peter Sam after the story was told, "although, you must've been scared when the trucks started holding you back."

"Only a little," said Skarloey, "I was sure that with that stunt, our line would close, but as you can tell, it didn't."

"We're still here, and so are all of you," Rheneas added in.

"Now that's what I call 'Rising from the Ashes'," said Smudger, "you two were just like a phoenix, just when you fall, you get back up and show those trucks that you will not be taken down so easily."

Even Sir Handel had to agree. Freddie smiled, "I'm glad to hear that these stories have a happy ending to it."

All the engines agreed happily to that. One by one, they all went off to sleep. For Skarloey and Rheneas, they felt proud to be useful engines and to be working on the line they've always worked on for years.


	21. Sir Thomas

_**Sir Thomas**_

It was a bright sunny day on Sodor, Thomas the Tank Engine was puffing along with his two passenger coaches, Annie and Clarabel. As they were puffing up to the school that was close to the tracks, the signal there turned red.

"Brakes Driver!" he cried.

Thomas' Driver reached over for the brake handle, and slowly but surely, Thomas came to a smooth stop beside the signal.

"Daisy must be coming threw with more passengers," said the fireman, "knowing her, she won't be too long getting here."

While they waited, Thomas' Driver and fireman were talking with one of the teachers during the children's recess break. She was talking to them about what she was telling the students earlier.

"We were talking about the knights of medievil times, the children really enjoyed listening about them."

"I can see that," said the fireman, "I can see many of them playing knights right now."

Sure enough, as he and the Driver were looking out of the cab, they could see the children playing a game of knights. A few minutes later, Daisy came into view and rumbled away past Thomas.

The signal arm dropped, and Thomas started on his way again.

"What were you two talking about when you were talking to the teacher?" Thomas asked.

"We were just talking about the knights of medievil times," said the Driver.

"It was a long time ago," said the fireman, "long before railroads and trains came. These knights would go into battle aganist other warriors to defend their king and queen."

"They had to be brave, daring and truthful," the Driver added, "then they were awarded with the name 'Sir'."

Thomas was now impressed.

That night in the sheds, he told the other engines all about the knights of medievil times.

"True brave warriors in their time," said Toby, "they certainly were brave, daring and truthful. It's a wonder why they got the name 'Sir'."

"I only wish I could do everything that a knight could," Thomas sighed, "and be called 'Sir Thomas'."

Emily started laughing, "you a knight? Don't make me laugh! Knights were humans, not engines!"

"There's no need to be rude," said Rosie firmly.

"But it's true, knights are knights, and engines are not."

"Maybe so," Percy huffed, "but engines can do many of the deeds that the knights could do."

Toby was quick to agree, "Sakura is a good example, she was daring and brave when she tried to save her friends from runaway trucks, and every engine tells the truth."

"Not always," said Emily quietly, remembering her past experiences.

Thomas only sighed unhappily and looked down to his buffers.

The next morning, Thomas was out on the main line with a train of stone trucks that were to be delivered to the docks. He had collected the train from Mavis, who had already brought them to the last station of the branch line on time.

The journey was going well, until he reached the old stone bridge.

"Cinders and Ashes!" he gasped.

He could see Rosie on the bridge, she had been taking a long line of coal trucks, but the silly trucks had held back so much that she ran out of steam before she could cross the bridge.

Worst still, the stones below her were beginning to fall into the water below.

"HELP!" she cried, "the bridge is falling apart!"

Thomas knew that Rosie was right, so he asked his Driver to him onto the bridge. The Driver opened the regulator, and Thomas went charging to the tail end of the train.

"No you don't, no you don't!" cried the trucks.

"Get moving you, get moving you!" Thomas shouted.

Thomas puffed and pushed, pushed and puffed, and at long last, he was able to push Rosie and her train off the bridge - and just in the nick of time as the entire bridge fell into the waters below.

"We'll need to inform the Fat Controller and the workmen about this," said Thomas' fireman.

Rosie was quite relieved, "whew!" she gasped, "thank you so much Thomas!"

Thomas could hardly speak to reply back, he was out of breath. They waited till Rosie got enough steam, then after teaching the trucks a lesson, Rosie puffed on her way.

"Time for us to get going too," said Thomas' Driver.

He opened the regulator, and Thomas puffed on his way to the docks.

Thomas was soon puffing up to a junction, Duck was already there, he had just returned from the steamworks after his inspection had just been completed and now he was on his way back to the Little Western.

As Thomas reached the junction, he could see that a signal was leaning down, falling in Duck's direction.

"The wood must be rotted out," he said to his crew, "we need to warn Duck!" The Driver opened the regulator and Thomas charged towards Duck, pushing him along. Thomas pushed him clear of the signal, just as it crashed to the ground and smashed into pieces.

"Are you okay?" Thomas cried.

"Yes," Duck called back, "thanks for saving me Thomas, I had just come out of the steamworks, I certainly didn't need to go back."

Duck's Driver went over to the signalbox to inform the signalman about the damaged signal, then they puffed off, light engine, back to the Little Western.

When the signal had been cleared away, Thomas puffed on his way again.

On the return journey back to the Branch line, Thomas spotted the Fat Controller talking to Oliver, he didn't look too happy.

"Oliver, why did you spill all this stone on the ground?" he asked crossly.

"It wasn't my stone sir," groaned Oliver.

Thomas could see that the stone was his, he called out to the Fat Controller, "Sir, those are my stones, they must've spilled out of my trucks when I was helping Duck," and he explained about the incident from before.

"I see," he said, then the Fat Controller turned to Oliver, "I'm sorry for thinking that you caused this accident. You can go back to work."

"Yes sir," Oliver smiled and puffed away, but not before winking at Thomas and saying "Thank you."

Thomas didn't reply back. Thomas' Driver went up to the signalbox to phone for help, while the Fat Controller drove away back to the big station.

Within minutes, Harvey arrived to help clear up the mess and load the stone into Thomas' trucks. Harvey could see that Thomas was looking sad.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing really, I was just wondering what it would be like to be a knight, to be daring, brave and truthful."

"Thomas, you are brave, daring and truthful. Why, you helped Rosie earlier, you saved Duck from that signal, and you told the Fat Controller that you were the one who spilled the stone, saving Oliver from being blamed."

"I know," he sighed, "but I wish I was knighted and be called 'Sir Thomas', but I guess I'll only ever be Thomas the Tank Engine."

With the stone now loaded up, Thomas puffed on his way with the last truck to the docks. Harvey felt sorry for Thomas and wanted to help him. Then he came up with a great idea, he puffed off to find the Fat Controller.

Later that day, Thomas was called to the big station, the Fat Controller and Harvey were there - and so was the queen.

"I have been called here to knight you," she said to Thomas, "I dub thee, Sir Thomas."

Thomas was surprised, the Fat Controller then walked up to him, "I am very proud of you Thomas," he smiled, "after hearing from Harvey about what you did for Rosie, Duck and Oliver, and of your wish to be knighted..."

"We all decided that you should be knighted," called Harvey from another platform.

Thomas was at a loss for words, he couldn't believe what he had heard, but he was happy, "thank you Harvey, thank you sir, and thank you your majesty, I promise you all that I'll continue to do my best with the work I do, and to never let you down."

With a blow of his whistle, Thomas puffed on his way back to the Branch line.

"I know you will, Sir Thomas," smiled the Fat Controller.

For Sir Thomas the Tank Engine, he most certainly will. Although, he was looking forward to telling Emily that engines can be knighted after all.


	22. Deja Vu

_**Deja Vu**_

Gordon the Big Proud Engine has been working on the Fat Controller's Railway for many years, he can pull any kind of train, but he has a soft spot for the express. He loves to roll down the line with the heavy passenger coaches and the wind blowing across his funnel.

However, like any other engine on the line, Gordon does get himself into some minor accidents, like the time he went onto an old branch line and crashed into a field, or there was the time when he crashed into a snowdrift, but the worst incident he could remember, is the time when he went slipping into a ditch.

Although the incident happened many years ago, certain engines like Duncan and James can often tease him about it.

One morning, Gordon was at the station where the Main line and the narrow gauge railway meet, he was waiting for Duncan to arrive with his passengers. He didn't have to wait too long, as Duncan arrived on time.

"Right on time little engine," Gordon smiled.

"I tried," Duncan said a little out of breath, "some sheep got onto the line and I thought I was going have to stop for them, thankfully the farmer was able to get them out of the way as we came."

"At least Duncan is able to avoid minor incidents," said James, who was also collecting passengers, "unlike certain engines I know."

"Shut up," sniffed Gordon.

"Why? What were you talking about, James?" Duncan asked curiously.

"I'm talking about a certain blue tender engine that went splashing into a dirty ditch to avoid pulling a goods train," James started laughing, and so did Duncan.

Gordon tried to get his own back by talking about James, who once needed bootlaces, and Duncan, who crashed in a tunnel, but they didn't listen.

"Be careful when you go back to the end of the line," James teased as Gordon's guard blew his whistle, "we wouldn't want you to go slipping into the same ditch again."

Gordon snorted angerily away, he could hear both engines laughing at him, he didn't like that.

A few days later, Gordon came into the big station with the last express of the day. As he was slowing down, he could feel his brakes groan as he tried to stop.

"That doesn't feel good," he groaned.

James was nearby, "have you gone sliding into another ditch Gordon?"

"No," Gordon snapped back, "I've been pulling the express all day!"

"It's okay Gordon, you can tell me," he said cheekily.

"Leave Gordon alone," called Edward from another platform, "he doesn't always need to be reminded of that incident from years ago."

"If you ask me," James chuckled, pretending to ignore Edward, "The Fat Controller should've left Gordon in the ditch, then I might've finally gotten my chance to pull the express, plus it would teach him a lesson."

The guard blew his whistle, and James puffed away, chortling at his own wit.

"You don't need to take James so seriously," said Edward, "it's better to ignore him."

Gordon agreed, "I wish I knew how you can handle those engines."

A little later, the Fat Controller came to see Gordon, "your crew have informed me that your brakes have been failing lately, I would like to send you to the steamworks, but they're a little full at the moment."

Gordon looked worried, "don't worry," the Fat Controller continued, "the engine works near Crovan's Gate has got plenty of room, and are more than happy to fix your brakes. Now, I have a goods train I would like you to take to Vicarstown, then you go to the works after you're done with your work."

Normally Gordon would never want to pull a goods train, but he did like the idea.

"Alright sir, I'll do it."

"There's a good engine. Now, don't you worry about tomorrow's express, the works have promised to fix your brakes tonight, so you'll be able to pull the express first thing tomorrow."

Gordon was happy to hear that, he puffed away in an excited way.

When he arrived at the shunting yards, Charlie had just finished the last of the shunting. Then once he was off to do some other jobs, Gordon backed down slowly onto the train.

"Hopefully it'll be smooth running to the end of the line," he thought to himself.

Gordon didn't need to worry one bit, all seemed to go well as he pulled his train along the line. He arrived at Vicarstown station in record timing, the Stationmaster there was impressed.

"It's no wonder why the Fat Controller calls you a really useful engine," he said, "well done Gordon."

"Thank you," smiled Gordon.

"Alright Gordon," called his Driver, "we better get you turned around, then we can head off to Crovan's Gate."

Gordon soon arrived at the turntable, but as he approached it, he heard something moving in the bushes.

"What was that?" he thought to himself, but it was too dark to tell, "oh well, I'm sure it's just animals."

Gordon was wrong though, it wasn't animals hiding in the thick bushes, it was four boys. One of them watched Gordon roll onto the turntable with interest.

"We'll wait till the crew leaves the cab," said the eldest boy, "then that will be our time to climb on board."

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea," said one of the younger boys.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing, my father is Sir Handel's Driver after all, he taught me everything I know about driving trains. I'm sure we'll be okay."

Once Gordon's crew had climbed down from the cab, the boys made their move into the cab. The three boys were nervous, but the eldest boy wasn't.

"Now, where is that regulator," he thought to himself, "here it is."

He then opened the regulator, which was going to be a big mistake.

Gordon was still being turned around, he could see the dirty ditch, "the sooner I'm away from that ditch, the better," he thought.

That's when it all happened, Gordon felt his wheels begin to move, slowly at first, then his speed began to build.

His crew were taken by surprise, "Gordon!" cried his Driver, "Where are you going?"

"It's not me!" Gordon cried, "I don't want to go in that ditch again!"

"Alright," said the eldest boy, "time to stop this engine." He went for the brake handle, but when he went to try it, they wouldn't work properly. The younger boys were terrified, and so was Gordon.

The big blue engine couldn't stop himself as he slipped into the ditch again, "oh no!" he cried, "Get me out! Get me out!"

"Not again," groaned the Driver.

He and the fireman walked over to see the three young boys looking terrified, "we're sorry," they said, "we didn't want this to happen, we didn't even want to do this, he told to do it."

The eldest boy showed his face, he didn't look so proud of himself now.

"You should know that Gordon is not a toy!" said the fireman firmly, "he is a real...say, aren't you the son of Sir Handel's Driver?"

"Yes, I am," he groaned.

"Oh boy, your father won't be pleased with what you've done," then he called to the other boys, "don't you worry, I'll go get help, stay put!"

"That's all we can do!" they cried.

The Driver looked over to Gordon, "at least it wasn't your fault."

Within minutes, Edward arrived, along with Sir Handel's Driver, he didn't look too happy. He spoke to his son severly, now the boy wishes that he hadn't done what he did.

"Don't worry Gordon," called Edward, "we'll soon have you out."

It was hard to tow Gordon out of the muddy ditch, but Edward was able to pull him out. The three young boys all apologized at once, but they didn't get scolded, they were let off the hook.

"Tell you what," said Edward's Driver, "we'll give you boys a ride home after we drop Gordon off at the works."

"Thank you," they said, then they told Edward's crew that they live near the Wharf.

"Thank you for coming to help me," Gordon called to Edward on the way to the works, "but do me a favour, don't tell James about this."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but James has already heard. He was in the yards with me when the news came in, but don't worry, I'll have a little talk with him later on."

"Thank you Edward."

However, Edward wouldn't need to say anything to James, for he was going to be getting a lesson he wasn't going to forget, but that's for the next story.


	23. Niki the Third Person Engine

_**Niki the Third Person Engine**_

At the engine works, the workmen discovered that Gordon needed more repiars than what they had orginally thought. They telephoned the Fat Controller.

"Gordon is going to be in our workshops for a while, you might want to borrow another engine until he's ready to come out."

The Fat Controller chuckled, "there's no need to borrow another engine, I already have a plan in motion..."

The next day, James was still teasing Gordon, the other engines all tried to stop him, but he just wouldn't stop. The teasing didn't last very long, as the engines of Tidmouth sheds heard the sounds of a steam engine coming, it sounded very different from any other engine on the line. Then they heard it's loud whistle as it came towards them.

The engine was painted in the same tusken red paint that Arthur has, but this engine was bigger, she was a tender engine with four front wheels and six driving wheels, and had the letters LMS on the side of her tender.

The Fat Controller stepped down from the cab, "this is Niki, I have brought her here to help with the passenger trains while Gordon is away, she's also to be our newest main line engine."

James only groaned quietly, "we don't need anymore new engines, we already have three engines that are bigger and stronger than Gordon."

"Niki is very pleased to meet all of you," she said kindly.

The engines looked on surprised, except for Edward, "You speak in the third person, am I right?"

"That's right, Niki does speak in third person."

Billy was confused, "what does it mean to speak in third person?"

Duck kindly explained, "It means that Niki speaks of herself as if she was someone else, to put it simply, instead of saying ' I ' or 'me', she says her name."

"Okay I understand now."

"I would like you engines to make Niki feel comfortable," continued the Fat Controller, then he looked over to the new engine, "Niki, I am putting you onto trail runs, and if all goes well, then you shall become a member of the railway family."

"Yes sir, Niki promises to do her very best."

The Fat Controller smiled, then he set off with BoCo back to the Big Station. The engines kindly introduced themselves to Niki, except for James, who only grunted.

As the day wore on, James wouldn't speak to Niki, but he would speak about how different she is, "she's a crazy engine," he sniffed, "speaking of herself like that."

"Now why does that sound familar?" Henry chuckled quietly.

"There's no need to be rude to Niki," said Duck firmly, "she might sound a little different, but she's still a nice engine and could be really useful if you just give her a chance."

"Pah!" he sniffed, "the only chance I'll give her is to stop speaking of herself like that."

Duck and Henry gave it up, they knew that James can be a little stubborn and a little strong headed when he wants to be.

Niki in the meanwhile, was puffing over to the big station to find Hiro, the Master of the Railway. They were to be doubleheading the express, as orders by the Fat Controller.

"Are you Hiro?" Niki asked.

"I am," he answered, "and you must be Niki, it's an honor to meet a sweet engine like yourself."

Niki felt honored that she started to blush.

"Since this is going to be your first passenger run on the main line, I'll couple onto the coaches first, then you couple up in front of me. That way you'll be able to see the line."

"Niki likes the idea, Niki will do that."

Hiro certainly was impressed with this new engine. Within minutes, Hiro was coupled up to the coaches, then once Niki was switched over to the other line, she was coupled up to Hiro.

They waited patiently for the passengers to board, then once the guard blew his whistle, the two engines puffed on their way down the line.

The journey was all smooth running, Hiro was definetly impressed and Niki was happy to be working again. She loved seeing all the sights around her flash by before her.

They arrived at the last station of the line quicker than ever before, the passengers all came out to thank the two engines.

"You are a wonderful engine Niki," they said, "and quite a beautiful engine too."

"Oh stop," she giggled, "you're making Niki blush," then she called out to Hiro, "did Niki do a good job?"

"A good job?" he asked, "Niki, you did an excellent job, we're early."

Even the diesel from the Other Railway was surprised by the engine's early arrival. Niki felt very proud of this.

That night in the sheds, Niki told the other engines about the early arrival at Vicarstown station, they were impressed, except for James. He was still thinking the way he was before.

"Crazy engines should not be on our railway," he thought to himself.

The following morning, James was out with a goods train, he was cross that he took his anger out on the trucks before leaving the yards.

Everything was going well, until James began to feel a little sick to the boiler.

"I don't feel well," he groaned, "I need a drink!"

The Driver tried his injector, but it didn't work. The fireman tried his, but the same thing happened. The fireman then looked over to the gauge, he was in for a shock, "that's odd," he said, "we're low on water!"

"What?" asked the Driver in surprise, "I thought we filled up before we left the yards."

"We did, maybe there's a hole under James' tender, hence why he's low on water."

They came to a stop beside a lonely signalbox, then while the Driver went to phone for help, the fireman checked underneath James' tender. He didn't have to look for too long, and explained everything to the Driver when he returned.

"There is a hole under James' tender, rust is the cause of it all."

"In that case," said the Driver, "We better put the fire out, then wait for help to arrive."

James didn't like the idea of waiting, but there was nothing he could do about it. So he waited for ten minutes, then at last, there came the sounds of an engine coming down the tracks.

"That was fast," said James' Driver, "I wonder which engine it is."

"I hope it's Hank or Neville," James thought to himself.

But it wasn't Hank or Neville, it was Niki. James didn't say a single word, but James' crew certainly did, "James has run out of water, he's got a hole under his tender, can you take us to the steamworks?"

"We can't," called Niki's Driver, "they're still full!"

"But we can take you to the regular works," called Niki's fireman.

Niki was soon switched over to James' line, then she towed him all the way down the line. James was awfully quiet along the way, he was surprised by her speed and her strength.

"Maybe the others were right," he thought to himself, "maybe Niki isn't a crazy engine after all."

When they reached Crovan's Gate, Niki shunted James into the workshops carefully beside Gordon. Needless to say, Gordon didn't say a single word.

Just as Niki was about to leave, James called out to her.

"I was wrong for thinking that you were a crazy engine that couldn't anything right," he apologized, "I hope you can forgive me."

"Niki forgives you, and Niki is wondering, would you like to be Niki's friend?"

"Sure, and once I'm back at work, I'll show you around in the yards."

"Okay, Niki would like that."

Niki then left to take James' train. Then for the rest of the night, neither Gordon or James teased each other about the incidents that occured over the last few days. Instead, they talked about Niki and hoped that she would pass her trail runs.


	24. Never Trust Diesel

_**Never Trust Diesel**_

Niki was certainly proving to be a valuable member of the Fat Controller's fleet of engines. She could handle coaches and trucks quite nicely. The trucks were indeed impressed that they didn't bother playing any of their tricks on her.

"She's kinder than some of the other engines," they would often say, "she's an engine who knows how to treat trucks with respect."

The Railway Staff and the other engines would agree and say the same thing about Niki. Well, all except for Diesel.

"She's just being a boastful show-off," he muttered to himself, "she's always going off saying her name as if she's royality."

Of course, no one did tell Diesel that Niki speaks in the third person.

"When I get my chance, I'll show her 'Royal Highness' what we real engines can do!"

On one sunny morning, Gordon and James were allowed to go back to the sheds. They had been repaired inside and out and ran like new engines. When they returned to the sheds, they were greeted by Niki.

"Niki's really happy that you two came home."

"And it feels good to be back," said Gordon, then he noticed that Niki was looking worried, "What's the matter?"

"Niki's just worried, what if Niki makes a mistake, she is still on her trail runs after all. Niki certainly doesn't want to go back to where she came from."

James then piped up, "we've both heard of how well you've been doing while Gordon and I were in the engine works, so I don't think you need to worry."

"Niki tried her best, but she hopes that you are right, James. Niki just wants to be a really useful engine."

"As we all do," said Gordon.

Just talking with both Gordon and James made Niki feel much better. Little did the three engines know that Diesel was outside their sheds. He was collecting a goods train that was needed at the Big Station, and he had overheard the entire conversation.

"So, she's worried is she? This gives me an idea."

As every engine on Sodor knows, whenever Diesel comes up with a plan or an idea, it's not usually a good one, and will turn on him before the end of the day.

Later on that afternoon, Niki was arranging the last of her coaches into line, just as Diesel oiled up beside her.

"Hello there, Niki's name is Niki, what's yours?"

"My name is - Colin," Diesel was of course lying, but Niki didn't know that. Diesel had given himself another name, just in case the other engines had told her about him, "it's nice to meet you."

"Are you new here Colin?"

"Oh no, I've been here on the railway for quite a few years already. Now Niki, I've heard from the worthy Top...er, Sir Topham Hatt that you are not suppose to stop at Wellsworth today, it's closed for repairs today."

"Thank you so much Colin, Niki is glad you told her."

"Glad to be of some help," he chuckled quietly.

The guard blew his whistle, then with a blow of her mighty whistle, Niki puffed on her way out of the station. Diesel smirked to himself, "BoCo is due to go threw by the time she's to arrive at Wellsworth, now she'll get into trouble after she runs into his train and be sent away. Oh, am I ever a clever engine."

He then went on his way to collect more trucks.

"Why that Diesel," said Rosie who saw all from another platform, "doesn't he ever learn to behave?"

"Afraid not," said Neville, "he's always been like that, even to when I first came here."

"It's almost like he takes great pleasure in messing with us, like what he did to me just before christmas, or what he did to Duck many years ago."

"He is a troublemaker, but his plan will fail soon. Still, I'm worried about Niki and her passenger train."

Out on the main line, Niki and her passengers were enjoying the nice run through the countryside, the wind was blowing across Niki's funnel and her wheels pounded the rails with each wheel turn by wheel turn.

"We'll need to slow down soon," said Niki's Driver, "Wellsworth is just up ahead."

"We don't need to stop there today, Wellsworth is closed for repairs."

"Where did you hear that, Niki?"

"Niki heard about it from an engine named Colin."

"Alright then," said the fireman, "if there's no need to stop, then we might as well keep going."

At Wellsworth, BoCo had been moving some old trucks from the sidings, but they had been troublesome and made him stall. BoCo's Driver tried to get him to start up again, but BoCo just wouldn't move. Then they heard Niki's whistle.

"Don't worry BoCo," said his Driver, "Niki's suppose to stop at the station, she'll slow down and stop before she reaches our train."

BoCo's Driver was sadly wrong, Niki wasn't slowing down, she didn't think that she needed to, that was until she saw BoCo's train up ahead.

"Oh glory," cried the Driver, he leapt to the brakes, applying them hard, but with the weight of the coaches behind them, Niki wasn't stop in time. The tusken red engine shut her eyes tight.

There was an ear-splintering crash! Splintered wood from the old trucks went flying everywhere, and Niki bumped some of the wheel sets off the rails. Thankfully, she was able to stay on the tracks and her passengers weren't hurt.

The Stationmaster phoned for help, and soon, Edward, Neville and Rocky arrived to clear away the mess. The Fat Controller was also on board, "Niki, why didn't you slow down?"

"Niki was told that she didn't need to stop here. Niki heard that you told an engine named Colin, who then told Niki."

The Fat Controller was confused, "I don't have an engine named Colin."

"It was Diesel sir," called Neville, who was now coupling up to BoCo's front end. Then he explained everything that Diesel had said to Niki, then he explained to Niki about the troubles that Diesel has caused before.

Niki felt sad at once, "sir, will Niki be sent away again?"

"Why would you think that?" asked the Fat Controller.

"Cause, Niki caused an accident during her trail run, and engines who cause accidents during their trail runs get sent away."

The Fat Controller looked over to Niki with a smile on his face, "Niki, you are a kind hearted engine who likes to help others, but you worry yourself too much. I only send engines away when they won't listen to my orders or when they've been misbehaving. Bless my soul, sending you away would be a bad choice on my part, I would never allow that to happen."

Hearing that made Niki feel a little better.

"Now, I think you deserve a little fix-up at our Steamworks, then I want you to come back to the sheds, I'll have some important jobs for you when you get back. Like, pulling the express on your own."

"Oh thank you sir," Niki cheered, "Niki promises that she'll do her best when she's back."

"I know you will, that's why I brought you here."

Niki smiled from buffer to buffer, she couldn't have felt happier.

The same couldn't be said about Diesel when the Fat Controller caught up with him, he was cross!

"Why did you tell Niki that she didn't need to stop at Wellsworth?"

"Quite simple sir, she's a show-off. She always calls herself by her own name..."

"She speaks in the Third person," said the Fat Controller firmly. Diesel gulped, he now felt foolish, but he was now worried about what was to come next, "for your punishment, I'm going to send you to work at the steamworks, working on shunting duties, maybe a few days there will teach you a lesson."

Diesel groaned quietly about the punishment, but he didn't groan too loudly in case the Fat Controller heard.

Throughout the time he was to work there, Diesel grumbled dreadfully and loudly as he shunted, he really didn't like this punishment.

BoCo was released from the works two days after the accident, and as for Niki, when she was repaired, she got a great welcome back from the engines.

The Fat Controller then held up his hand for silence, "I'm pleased to say that Niki has passed her trail runs and she is now our official new main line engine. Welcome to the railway family Niki."

The other engines and their crews all joined in to congratulate Niki, they cheered and blew their whistles or airhorns. The Fat Controller thinks he's going to be deaf for weeks, while Niki the Third Person Engine felt proud to be an official member of the Fat Controller's family of engines.

**Author's Note:**

The accident at Wellsworth station was based on a real life event where a Long Island locomotive ran smack into the rear of a stalled freight train. The engine with the passenger train had smashed the freight cars to bits, nobody was seriously hurt during the accident. The incident happened on July 10th 1909 at Bay Shore, L.I.


	25. Bankrupt

_**Bankrupt**_

One cold evening, the main line engines were trying their hardest to sleep, but the howling winds outside made it difficult to do that. So they decided to talk until they felt sleepy. James was teasing Henry about the time his doube-stacks went crashing into the roof of his tunnel.

"What's the matter Henry?" he asked cheekily, "didn't you know that those double-stacks were too high?"

"No!" Henry snapped, "nobody could have known that."

Henry sulked quietly to himself, "I wish someone would talk about something else besides my incident at the tunnel mouth."

"Niki has a story," she called out, all eyes looked over to her, "it's a story about how Niki came to be here."

"Where did you come from?" asked Oliver.

"From an old hertiage line, Niki was only one of many engines who worked there, it was a nice line, but all good things do come to an end, as Niki sadly found out."

And this was the story Niki told.

It all started on a short line that ran through an old railroading town, some people wanted to bring the town back to life, and the way to do that was to restore the line and the town. As it was part of the old LMS railway, Niki was the obvious choice of engine to use.

She wasn't alone, they also had a rail-car, quite like Daisy, only with two units, and they also had another steam engine. This one used to belong to the Great Western, it was a small pannier tank engine, only with a much bigger cab and the roof didn't cover completely like Duck.

For years, the hertiage line ran perfectly with all three engines taking passengers to and from their destinations.

Many businesses opened up in the town too, which gave the visitors more to do.

Niki of all engines was very impressed with the work, but the other two engines, Cathy the Rail-Cars and Greg the Pannier tank engine were worried.

"I'm not liking this," said Cathy, "I have a bad feeling about the town."

"There might be more visitors coming in every day," Greg added, "but before you know it, they'll lose interest and stop coming here."

"Niki doesn't believe you, there might be more visitors, but from what Niki can see, the people are enjoying themselves, Niki doubts that our little hertiage line will close."

"You don't understand, do you?" asked Cathy, "it has happened so many times in the past with many other lines, especially this one, they went bankrupt faster than you can say 'Full Steam Ahead'."

"It's only a sign of things to come," added Greg.

Niki didn't believe the two engines, business was going well. People came by the dozens to see the sights of the town, and to see Niki in operation. Sometimes, there would be so many people that store owners would run short of supplies before the day was over.

It was all going well, but as the years went on, Greg and Cathy's worries started to come into play. Less and less people came to see the line, they had lost interest.

"Didn't we tell you?" asked Cathy.

"The end of our hertiage line is coming soon," said Greg.

Niki was now starting to worry too, but she continued to believe that the little line would stay open for more years to come. But that wasn't going to be the case.

Some shops in the little town were getting less and less costumers coming in, so the owners often had to close down their stores.

"There's no way our line will close down," Niki said to the other two engines, "Niki believes that even with the small amount of people coming to our line, it'll keep us going for years to come."

"You better be right," said Cathy, who still had her doubts.

For another two years, things pretty much stayed the same, and the engines believed that their line would stay open. I'm sorry to say that their believes would soon be dashed.

The line was facing troubles even from the start, they were getting closer and closer to being bankrupt.

To save them money, the manager of the little line had to close down a few of the good shops, and sell Cathy as she wasn't needed as often.

"You were wrong Niki!" she cried as she left, "this line is doomed, as it always has been!"

"Don't listen to her," said Greg, who was looking on the positive side now, "You weren't completely wrong, there's still people coming to see our line and the railroading town."

"Maybe so, but what about the closed businesses and the conditions of our line, Niki fears that the manager might make some cuts that will affect us."

"You worry too much, you know that?"

Niki had every right to worry, mostly cause the work on the lines were ignored and often forgot about, and the manager had closed down a few more business when less and less passengers came on the main line trains.

One street after another, businesses were shut down, employees lost their jobs, and even some of the coaches were sold off. The last act to keep the line going was for Greg to be sold off, it would give the railway more money, but it meant that Niki was going to be working alone.

"Good luck dear friend," called Greg as he left, "I'm sure you can keep this line going."

Niki hoped so too. From that moment onwards, the end of the heritage line was getting nearer and nearer. More and more shops closed, and less people came, they didn't want to ride the train to a town that didn't have very much to offer.

"What if manager sells Niki," she asked her Driver.

"He won't do that," he said kindly, "if he does, then the line will lose business."

"Quite right," said the fireman, "I mean, if this line didn't have an engine to run on it's tracks, then there's no reason to keep the line or the town going."

"Niki hopes that the line doesn't close, it's getting worse with each day that passes."

"I know," sighed her Driver, "we can only hope for the best."

Their hopes and worried were soon to turn to reliefed sighs during the autumn season, people came by the hundreds to see the sights along the line, and shop in the few shops that were still open.

They often needed to borrow coaches from the mainline just to keep up with the large demand of passengers.

"There's still hope for this line," smiled Niki, "Niki knew that we wouldn't close down."

What Niki didn't know was that the manager had arranged for people to see the line for the last time. She didn't know anything about his plans, until it was much too late on the very last day of operations.

"You closed the line?" she asked in shock.

"I'm afriad so, people just weren't interested in this old line and town anymore. I'm selling you off to another railroad that requires a strong powerful steam engine on their railway, I'm sorry that I had to do this, Niki."

"It's okay," she said, then she started to shed a few tears.

The very next morning, Niki was given a final lookover by the workmen, then she was sent out on her way. As she passed the railroading town, she could see the last of the shops being closed down and boarded up, it was a sight she hoped to never see. She continued looking at this until she was out on the main line.

"And the rest you all know," Niki said as she finished her story.

The engines were surprised by what they heard, "Niki," called Henry, "do you know of what could've happened if you weren't brought here?"

"Niki doesn't know, she might've been scrapped, or she could've been left in a siding to rot for many years."

"Then I'd say you're very lucky to have been brought here," said James, "you can relax and know that you'll never have to go to a scrapyard ever."

"Niki knows that," she smiled, "Niki is happy to be a part of this railway family."

"Well we're glad to have you here," smiled Henry.

All the engines agreed, then they went to sleep. Even though the howling winds were still blowing outside, they were able to sleep, especially Niki, she could sleep easy, knowing that she has a bright future on the Island of Sodor.


	26. James Makes a Mistake

_**James Makes a Mistake**_

During the springtime, the engines of Sodor are kept busy with all the deliveries they have to make. They usually have to deliver their loads to the destinations of Sodor, but there does come a once and a while chance to take trains to the Other Railway.

Originally, the Other Railway controller didn't want steam engines coming into his railyards, especially after Oliver and Stepney's escapes, but after a long time, the Other Railway controller decided that the Fat Controller could allow one of his steam engines visit the yards, as long as they are coming with trains.

One late evening, James was puffing over the bridge to the Other Railway, he was taking a long line of coal trucks, which made him cross.

"Goods trains," he snorted, "a spendid red engine like myself shouldn't be pulling goods trains, that's a job that Niki, Neville or Hank could do."

"The Fat Controller chose you, and that is that," said his Driver firmly, "so quit your complaining!"

James did, and puffed on till he reached the yards. When he got there, he was welcomed by a big diesel, named Deltic. As his name tells, he is a deltic diesel engine, all painted blue and had a friendly look on his face, unlike some of the other diesels of the yards.

"Ah," smiled Deltic, "thank you for bringing the goods train James, we've been waiting for those supplies. Now, could you shunt them to the fifth siding that's to the right of you, I've got my buffers full here."

"Sure," James sulked and puffed back to the sidings.

When he arrived at the siding, he could see to the left of him, was a set of smart looking tusken red coaches.

"How smart do they look," James thought to himself.

It was then that Deltic rolled up on the sixth siding, he looked to James, who was still looking at the tusken red coaches.

"Are those new?" James asked.

"They are indeed," smiled Deltic, "a diesel from another region brought them here just last night. According to him, those are suppose to be the most comfortable coaches for people to ride in, and are smooth running too."

"Are they really?"

"I don't know," said the diesel, "I haven't gotten the chance to take them out for a run, I've been too busy. Still, those coaches are taking up too much space in the yards, they'll need to be moved."

It was then that James came up with an idea, "why don't I take the coaches to another part of the yard, since you have done a lot for me today."

Deltic smiled, "thank you James, you're doing me a great favour. Now don't you worry about your train, I'll have it ready soon, as our saying goes 'We work hard to do our best."

Deltic soon had James' train all arranged on the same siding with the coaches, then he tooted a friendly goodbye to James.

James snickered quietly to himself as he was backed onto his long train, "these smart tusken red coaches deserve to be pulled by a Sodor engine, not these blue painted diesels."

When James was backed down onto his line of trucks, he told his crew that they had more trucks to take that were further down the same siding.

"It'll mean that we'll have to pull a long train," said the Driver, "but I'm sure that our James can pull the train."

James chuckled quietly as his line of trucks was backed to the coaches, then once the coaches were coupled up by the shunter, who thought James was going to move them to another siding, James puffed away for the bridge.

"Clever me, clever me," he chuckled to himself.

He was soon over the bridge and back on Sodor.

When he arrived at the yards, James shunted the coaches into a dark empty shed, then he shunted his trucks away in sidings. He smirked to himself as he puffed off for the sheds.

"Now I'll get to pull those coaches tomorrow, and get to try my new motto."

James thought his plan had worked like a charm, he felt quite pleased with himself.

The next morning, the Fat Controller told James that he was to take the passengers on a tour of the line, "you will have to use other coaches, Gordon and Niki have taken the express coaches earlier today."

"No problem sir," James smiled and puffed away.

When he reached the coach yards and after being coupled up to the new coaches, he puffed off for the station. His Driver looked confused when he looked back, "It's odd, I remember seeing coaches like those on the Other Railway."

"Ah well," James stampered, "these are...new coaches. They had arrived last night, I heard a diesel come in with them."

James was of course lying, but his crew suspected nothing, and so they continued on.

When James arrived at the station, he smiled to the passengers, "all aboard for the tour of the line, remember this, we work hard to do our best!"

The passengers looked at James with angry looks, "we've heard the same saying on the Other Railway!" they snapped, "what are you trying to do? Steal what isn't yours?"

"Ah no," James lied again, "I came up with that last night, I didn't know it was the Other Railway's saying."

Just as the remaining passengers were boarding the train, Donald arrived with some trucks from the Little Western.

"Hello litta James," then he looked back to the coaches, "those look like te Other Railway's new coaches. Where did yoo get yon coaches James?"

"I got them from the coach yards," he said, he was starting to look worried. Just then, the guard blew his whistle and James had to go, he blew his whistle, then he puffed slowly out of the station.

"That was very strange," said Donald's Driver, "we should probably check with the Fat Controller to see if we did get new coaches."

"Aye and quickly too," agreed Donald, "somethin' tells me that yon James isna tellin' te entire truth about te coaches."

James in the meanwhile was having having the time of his life, "What a sight I am! What a sight I am!" he puffed proudly to himself.

James' fun wasn't going to last for too long, as he reached the last station of the line. There was Douglas, who had just finished shunting the last of his trucks, and so was the Fat Controller.

"James," he said firmly, "I've gotten a phone call from the Other Railway's controller that some of his new tusken red coaches have gone missing, and I see you with some tusken red coaches."

"Looks like the wee litta James took them sirr," said Douglas.

James was now looking more and more worried than before, "er, ah, must have been an accident," he groaned.

When the passengers came out of the coaches, they told the Fat Controller about James' new motto. When he heard this, he looked livid, "you stole the Other Railway's motto, and their new coaches too! I thought you knew better James!"

"But sir," James groaned, "the coaches..."

"I'm not in the mood to listen to your tall tales," he snapped, "you will be taken to the Other Railway and you will apologize for what you have done. Douglas and I will go with you."

James groaned dreadfully, but he felt worse when Donald's Driver called and asked about the coaches. The Fat Controller came back out with a real angry look on his face, it was lucky for James that the Fat Controller didn't say anything.

"You shouldna take things that arena yoors," said Douglas as he backed down to James' front end.

Once the scottish engine was coupled up, the long strange train headed off for the Other Railway, while Hank took the passengers back home with different coaches.

When they were at the Other Railway yards, James admitted to stealing the coaches and the Other Railway's Motto, "I'm sorry that I took them," he groaned, "I just thought I could do better with the coaches and your motto, but I was wrong. I'm sorry."

The Other Railway controller looked sternly at him, and so did Deltic, Douglas and the Fat Controller.

Then after a while, the Other Railway smiled, "of course we'll forgive you James, but I certainly hope that you will won't do this again."

"I won't, I promise."

"How were the coaches?" Deltic asked, "were they as smooth as that other diesel said?"

James looked up to him with a smile, but then he looked down to his buffers, "yes, they were as smooth as the other diesel said."

For a punishment, for an entire week, James would work in the yards of the Other Railway with Deltic. During that time, Deltic gave him some tips on mottos.

Then when James was finally ready to return to work, he pulled in with a passenger trains, smiling broadly, "spendid red engine coming in, resourceful and helpful, ready to help!"

Ever since that day, James had learned to never take something that wasn't his, "It's an important lesson for everyone to learn," he will often say. I think James is quite right, wouldn't you agree?


	27. Ready, Steady and Go Racing! the Movie

Well my friends, I have posted all twenty-six episodes of my first season and now here's a little extra bonus, a full length movie story. This movie story will feature some of the fastest engines in the entire world, like the Hiawatta streamlined engine, the Bullet-Nosed Engine of the Canadian National, Spencer the Private Engine, Gordon the Express Engine and even our dear old Thomas gets in on the action, how he does that is a secret till you start reading the story. Also, at the end of the story is a special song that was written up by me, which goes by the same title as the story. Now fasten your seat-belts and get ready for some high speed action as I am proud to present the full-length special...

_**Thomas & Friends**_

_**Ready, Steady and Go Racing!**_

_**The Movie**_

It was a beautiful summer's morning on the Island of Sodor, Thomas the Tank Engine was puffing along happily with his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. Thomas, his crew and even the coaches love this time of year as the weather is just perfect, there's more work for the engines and more visitors to visit the Island, especially since Hiro was still visiting the Island.

"What a beautiful day, oh what a beautiful day," sang Thomas to his coaches.

"Lovely weather too, lovely weather too," sang the coaches.

Thomas was taking his dear old coaches to the junction with some passengers for Gordon's express, he was thinking about the time he out-ran Gordon.

"Do you remember that day Driver?" Thomas asked.

"How can I forget, that jet engine sure made a lot of noise - come to think of it, I can still hear that whirring sound in my ears...getting louder and louder."

Thomas looked up, "it's only Jeremy heading out to other airports," he said.

Sure enough, it was Jeremy, he was heading off to other places all over the world.

"He's lucky to be going fast," Thomas thought to himself, "without a jet engine, I could never match Gordon's speed or Spencer's for that matter. Thank goodness he's back with the Duke and Duchess on the mainland and not here to ruin the peace."

Thomas had just reached the junction when he heard the sounds of a big engine's pistons pumping.

"Oh no," he groaned, "it can't be."

He looked across the platform and gasped when he saw the silver tender engine racing right past.

"Make way for the king of speed!" he shouted.

"It's Spencer!" Thomas was in pure shock, "why is he back now? We still have Hiro, we don't need him for passenger services."

"I don't know why he's back Thomas," groaned his Driver, "but whatever it is, must be part of the Fat Controller's plans...whatever they might be."

Thomas only groaned to himself, just as Gordon came up with the morning express.

"Did you see Spencer on the way?" Thomas asked.

"I did indeed," sulked Gordon, "and I can't believe that he's back."

"I have a strong feeling that we're never going to hear the end of his boasting now. He's going to go on about being the fastest, the shinest and the strong engine on Sodor."

"Well he's not the strongest anymore, especially not with Hank the American Engine and Murdoch the Giant Goods Engine here."

Before Thomas could say anymore, there came a loud whistle from down the line. Followed by the sounds of loud pistons pumping.

"Who's that?" Thomas asked.

"Doesn't sound like any engine I have heard before," said Gordon.

In less than a minute, the mysterious engine came into view, he was a big engine with a bullet nose.

"Hello there fellow engines, see you later!" the engine called and roared away.

"Who was that?" Gordon and Thomas asked in unison.

When Gordon got back to the big station that night, he was going to get his answer as he saw the bullet nosed engine again.

"Hello there," smiled the engine, "I hope I didn't surprise you earlier."

"No you didn't - who are you?"

"Forgive me, I should have introduced myself, I'm Greg the Bullet Nosed Engine. I have come all the way from Canada to attend the special event."

"And what special event is that?"

"The high speed engine's gala," said another voice, this one belonged to a big engine with a streamlined design, but didn't look like a steam engine at all, except at the wheels, "we were personally invited by your controller to attend it."

"Why wasn't I told of this event."

"I was going to tell you tonight," Gordon looked down to the platform to see the Fat Controller standing close by, "this was going to be a surprise, but seeing how you've met two of our visitors, I guess it would be okay to tell you now. You see, I've been planning this railway gala for a while, to have the world's fastest engines of all time come here and as an extra bonus, when the gala is in it's final week, there will be a world breaking race to see which steam engine is the fastest."

The three engines looked on impressively.

"Who's going to be in this race?" Gordon asked.

"You for one, then Greg the Bullet Nose, Benjamin the Hiawatta, Spencer, and Thomas."

"THOMAS?" Gordon was in shock, "Thomas isn't a high speed engine, so why is joining in on this race?"

"Because he has Sodor's speed record, hence why he's joining in."

Gordon said no more, but he was cross at this.

The night morning, Niki was at the front end of the morning express run, she was having a good run, until she heard a loud whistle from behind her, it belonged to Spencer.

"Out of the way slowpoke!" he called.

"Niki doesn't like the way he acts," she groaned, "Spencer is being a bully."

"I said out of the way!" he called.

Then there came another whistle from behind them, as another engine was coming up on the other line with a line of passenger carriages.

"There's no need to be rude," said the engine.

"Who are you?" asked Spencer, curiously.

"I'm Pendennis Castle, one of the many Great Western Castle engines. I don't like it when engines like you bully the engines who are doing their jobs, so leave her alone and use another line."

Spencer scowled quietly, then he felt his speed going down.

"Why are we slowing?"

"We have to slow down," called his Driver, "we're not going the same way as the express."

Spencer muttered under his breath, while Pendennis Castle continued on till he was alongside with Niki, "I don't think you'll need to worry about him tail-gating for a while."

"Thank you dear engine, Niki is grateful for what you just did."

"Always glad to help," then Pendennis Castle raced away with his passengers waving to Niki and her train.

"Niki thinks he's a kind engine," she thought to herself, "Niki wonders if he's joining in on the high speed engines gala."

Back on the branch line, Emily was talking to Thomas about the high speed engine's gala.

"I hear that many of the world's most famous and fastest engines are attending this thing. I've also heard that you're going to be joining in on the gala as well."

"I know that," Thomas smiled, "the Fat Controller's came to me earlier this morning to tell me."

"You're lucky to be joining in on this event, I'm too slow, so there's no reason I could join in."

"Most of us are," agreed Toby, "so for Thomas, it's an honor."

"Just be careful not to get over confident," advised Percy, "otherwise it could lead to trouble."

"Don't you worry Percy," Thomas chuckled, "I'll be careful."

"So when is the gala suppose to begin?" asked Daisy.

"It's going to start next week, according to the Fat Controller. So that means that next week, Charlie will be coming to work in my place while I'm away, but I would prefer to leave Annie and Clarabel in safe buffers like Percy and Emily."

"We won't let you down Thomas," smiled Emily.

"You can count on us," added Percy.

"I know you two will," he smiled.

At Knapford, Duck was shunting some ballast trucks into the siding when he heard the whistle of an oncoming engine, "rattle my dome," he said, "it can't be..."

Duck looked over to the platform where he saw an engine that he hadn't seen in years.

"Pendennis Castle!"

The castle class engine looked over to the sidings and noticed Duck, "well, well, Montaque, it's been quite a long time since I last saw you."

"It has indeed, oh and I go by Duck now."

"Oh yes, the little nickname we all gave you," he smiled, "and now it's your official name."

"It is, so tell me, what are you doing here?"

"What else? I'm here for the high speed engine's gala, as a request by your controller, Sir Topham Hatt."

"Well I'm glad to see you here, oh wait till Oliver hears about this, he's bound to get a huge surprise."

Spencer in the meanwhile wasn't happy at all, he had to stay in the steamworks for the rest of the day. His Driver and fireman had said that they could hear some rattling noises coming from him.

"I say that I'm fine," Spencer sniffed, "there's no need to make a huge fuss over me."

"You always want others to make a fuss about you," said Billy the orange tank engine, "can you at least make up your mind?"

Spencer only sniffed, "where is Victor?"

"He's gone off to the Wharf to bring Sir Handel here," said one of the shop workers, "he had broken down earlier and there were no other engines that could bring him here."

"So who's in charge while he's away?"

There came a loud bang from the back of the shops, it sounded like something had fallen to the floor, "sorry," called Kevin the Small Crane, "it was a slip of a hook!"

"That's the same excuse he always uses."

Nobody said anything else, the workers went back to work and Billy puffed on his way back to the yards at Knapford to shunt.

"Need any help?" Kevin asked Spencer as he rolled up next to him.

"No thank you," Spencer sniffed again, "I don't need any help and I don't need to be looked over, I'm in fine working order."

"That's not the reason you're here," called his Driver, "you have something rattling inside of you and that's why you here. Now you are not going anywhere till you are repaired. In the meantime, the fireman and I are going to get something to eat!"

And so they left, Kevin rolled off to a different part of the shop, while Spencer stayed in his part of the shop, all alone.

That night, Duck introduced everyone to Pendennis Castle, "he was one of the many Castle class engines that worked around Paddington station in the old days."

"That's correct," said Pendennis Castle, then he noticed Oliver close by, "so I take it that you're the tank engine that escaped scrap, am I right?"

"That would be me," he said, "but Toad and I woudln't have come here had it not been for Douglas."

"Twas nothin'," called Douglas, "any engine would've done te same."

Henry then cut in, "how fast can you go?"

Pendennis Castle chuckled, "my dear green fellow, I can assure you that I can go fast. I go as fast as that silver show off that I saw earlier."

Gordon looked across to the Castle class engine in surprise, "that's impossible, Spencer is a sleak silver engine, based on the Mallard's design..."

"I know that, but if I have a hot enough fire, and if I have no trucks or coaches behind me, then I can match that Spencer's speed easily."

"Maybe I should try that," Gordon muttered to himself.

At Knapford sheds, Murdoch and Hank was talking with the two other visiting engines, they were talking about their past working days.

"I worked hard along with the other bullet nosed engines for years," said Greg, "we were mostly assigned to passenger trains up in the rocky mountains, but we could also be seen throughout all of Canada. We continued to pull passenger trains, until our final days. I used to pull freight...oh sorry," Greg quickly corrected himself, "goods trains until I was retired from service."

"How awful," groaned Murdoch.

"It gets worse, they had removed my bullet nose when our days were coming to a close, but thankfully I was given my nose back when I was restored."

"Your last year of operations were around 1959, am I right?" Hank asked, "cause I remember that was the same for a railroad that looked similar to yours, the Grand Truck railway."

"That is correct," said Greg, "1959 was the last year of operation for us. As I'm sure it was for the rest for every railway."

"It's the same with my railway," said Benjamin, "although we were taken out of service long before that."

"Hmm yes," said Hank, "I heard about what happened to your class of engines, didn't one of your fellow Hiawatta brothers or sisters fall apart during their run?"

"Yes, one of them did fall apart. It's side panals fell right off and by the time it reached the station, it looked like a scrap engine."

"It wasn't scrapped, was it?" Murdoch asked.

"Not for a while, no, but like many of the other engines that came before, it was scrapped."

Murdoch and Hank were shocked by this that they remained respectfully silent.

The next morning, Thomas was taken off to the airport, he was to collect the jet engine that helped him to race past Gordon.

"Be careful with that thing," said Jeremy the Jet plane, "you don't want that jet to send you flying off the tracks."

"Don't worry yourself Jeremy," Thomas smiled, "this jet engine didn't send me flying off the tracks before, and it's certainly not going to do it now."

"If you say so, well, I love to stay and see your high speed train gala, but I have work to do, so I'll be gone for a while, I'll see you when I make my return."

Jeremy's twin engines roared into life, then he moved slowly down the runway, he then took off into the sky. Thomas watched until Jeremy was out of sight.

"Could we use the jet engine now?" Thomas asked.

"No," said his Driver firmly, "we can't use the jet engine until the Fat Controller says so."

"Oh okay," Thomas groaned quietly, then he puffed away to the big station.

When he arrived, he could see Niki talking with Greg the Bullet Nosed Engine, then they looked over towards Thomas.

"So you're the little tank engine that took the record away from the big blue engine," Greg chuckled, "it's nice to meet you, I've heard a great deal about you."

"Niki was telling him about how Thomas worked here in the old days, and how useful he is," said Niki.

"In all my years of railroading," said Greg, "I've never heard of an engine being pushed down the line with a jet engine before. I've heard about bullet trains, but never a jet powered train."

The three began to chuckle, but their laughter didn't last for too long, as Spencer came rolling past. He wasn't looking too happy.

"And what's the matter with you Spencer?" Thomas asked cheekily.

Spencer shot him an angry look, "I have to collect a goods train and take it to the docks, it's a job suited to a less important engine, like you."

"Why you!" Thomas looked like he was going to pop a piston.

"Causing trouble again?" called a voice, it was Pendennis Castle, "didn't I tell you yesterday to stop picking on my friends like that?"

"I will talk to them any way I want," Spencer snorted, "now if you'll excuse me, I have to pull that stupid goods train."

Spencer then puffed away angerily, Thomas groaned to himself, "that silly engine, he's always trying to be the best of the best, it's a wonder why he got in trouble before."

Even Niki was quick to agree with Thomas, "that Spencer gets under Niki's wheels sometimes."

With the line now clear, Thomas puffed on his way to the goods sheds, where the jet engine was to stay.

When the jet engine was put into the shed, Thomas was sent off with a goods train for the Wharf. As he puffed along, he saw Benjamin pass by with some coaches that he had brought.

"Looks like I might not beat all these high speed engines," Thomas groaned quietly.

"Come on Thomas," said his Driver, "winning isn't everything you know, as long as you have a good time, then that's all that matters."

"Yeah," Thomas smiled.

He soon arrived at the Wharf, Fearless Freddie was waiting nearby with some empty trucks.

"Hello Thomas," he called, "we don't usually see you that often around here, what are you doing here today?"

"Just delivering some goods for the Wharf," he answered, "this is from Knapford yards."

"Are you a part of the High Speed engine gala?"

"Yes, I am a part of it."

"You are lucky to be a part of it," Freddie sighed deeply, "I wish I could take part in the gala, but the Thin Controller needs me here on the railway. Besides, I could never run on your lines anyways."

"If you could," Thomas chuckled, "I'm sure you could give that Spencer a piece of your mind."

"Why? What is he doing now?"

"He's being boastful as always," Thomas then explained about how grumpy Spencer was when he was at the big station. While the two engines were talking, the workmen and the crews worked together to help load up Freddie's trucks.

"Say Freddie, aren't Skarloey and Rheneas suppose to be the fastest engines in the hills?"

"They used to be," Freddie chuckled, "they can't go that fast anymore, same with me. Although, if we could, we could have another race down the mountain like we did many years ago. Ah, good times."

Freddie closed his eyes and smiled happily, remembering the many races that he, Skarloey and Rheneas were in.

His thoughts were soon interupted when the two heard a loud whistle coming into the Wharf, it was Spencer. He was coming in a little faster than he normally would.

"Slow it down!" cried Freddie, "you shouldn't be coming into the Wharf that fast!"

"It's not me!" cried Spencer.

"Go on! Go on!" urged the stupid trucks, they were pushing aganist Spencer's tender and making him race dangerously down the lines.

Without wasting a second, Freddie puffed off without his trucks. His wheels pounded the rails as he tried to catch up to Spencer.

"You'll never catch me!" Spencer cried, "I'm too fast for a small engine like you to catch up with!"

"We'll see," Freddie cried. He was already starting to feel tired, but he was determined to save Spencer and everyone else in the Wharf. Luckily, Freddie knew all the lines that ran threw the Wharf, so he was able to race ahead of Spencer.

He raced over bridges, he raced threw warehouses, and race past Colin the Green Crane.

"Where's the fire?" he called to Freddie.

"No fire," panted Freddie, "runaway engine!"

A few seconds later, Colin could see Spencer racing dangerously past with his trucks still pushing on his buffers.

"You can't keep this up!" cried his Driver, "Spencer is too fast!"

"We don't need to keep racing forever!" Freddie cried, "there's a set of points further ahead that leads to a runaway siding, that could stop him!"

"Freddie, you are a clever engine, what would the Thin Controller do without you?"

Freddie didn't answer back, he just continued to pound the rails, while Spencer was catching up. As he got closer, he could see BoCo the diesel engine near the siding.

"Move away from the points!" Freddie cried to BoCo and his Driver, "we've got a runaway coming!"

BoCo's Driver threw him into reserve, while Freddie's fireman ran to the points. He changed them, then he jumped out of the way as Spencer went flying past.

"By golly," cried BoCo.

Spencer's Driver and Fireman jumped out of the cab and landed beside Freddie's fireman, while the mighty silver engine ran towards the sand pile. Spencer hit it with a dull thud! He tilted to the left side, while four of his trucks smashed right into his tender.

When the noise had died down, everyone looked to see the damage that was done. Spencer's silver paint had been scratched, and his body work had been damaged, same with his tender and the trucks.

Freddie's Driver then went off to phone for help.

When the news got out, the Thin Controller hurried to the scene of disaster, and a few minutes later, the Fat Controller arrived.

"What a mess," gasped the Fat Controller.

"It would've been worse," said BoCo, "had it not been for Freddie, he was able to outrace Spencer here."

The Thin Controller looked over to Freddie with a smile on his face, "Well done my little engine, despite your age, you were able to help prevent a serious accident."

"Yes indeed," agreed the Fat Controller, "you should be proud of yourself. You are a credit to your railway."

Freddie blushed, "I'm glad to have helped, but I'm sure any engine would've done the same."

Thomas then arrived, he was surprised by the mess that awaited him.

"Cinders and Ashes!" he gasped.

Soon it was time to clean the mess away, Thomas hauled away the unhurt trucks and shunted away, then after Rocky and Harvey had lifted Spencer, his tender, and the trucks back onto the tracks, BoCo towed Spencer away, while the trucks were shunted out of the way.

Thomas and Freddie remained silent as they watched BoCo tow Spencer away to the Steamworks.

"Well done Freddie," Thomas smiled.

"Thank you Thomas," Freddie chuckled, "I'm sure I'm going to hear that alot tonight."

Thomas just smiled, just as Freddie's guard blew his whistle, then the little engine puffed away with his trucks.

Spencer had to spend the entire night at the Sodor steamworks again, he didn't like being there, especially when the news of Fearless Freddie saving him went out.

"Oh come on Spencer," said Victor, "turn that frown upside down."

Spencer only grunted.

"Don't you worry, the work will soon be completed, then you can go back to the sheds tomorrow. You're very lucky that you didn't suffer too much damage during your crash."

Spencer still didn't say anything. Victor had to go do something else, so he puffed away and left Spencer alone in his part of the shop.

"I can't believe that a small engine was able to outrace me," he thought to himself, "I'm suppose to be the fastest engine in the world."

Kevin then came into view, he carrying some paint cans full of dark blue paint. He was driving around much too fast, he stopped quickly in front of Spencer, and the paint cans went flying in front of Spencer. The paint covered Spencer from the front end to the cab in dark blue paint.

"Sorry Spencer," cried Kevin, "it was just a slip of the hook. I'll get you some grey paint!"

Kevin dashed away, Spencer shouted, "I need silver! Not grey!"

It was lucky for Spencer that Victor heard of what happened, and asked the workmen to clean Spencer free of the dark blue paint. Spencer still said nothing, he just continued to sulk.

At Tidmouth sheds, Thomas was just backing in between Gordon and Niki.

"This must bring back memories," Gordon chuckled quietly.

"It does," said Thomas, "I remember when I used to stay in these sheds with you, Henry and Edward when I was the shunting engine. Although, it was a six stall roundhouse back then."

"Yes, much has changed, but one thing sure hasn't."

"And what's that?"

"I'm still much bigger and stronger than you," he chuckled.

Thomas didn''t find Gordon's joke very funny, and neither did Niki, who rolled her eyes and sighed deeply.

"I still don't get it," said Charlie from his berth, "why is Thomas joining the high speed engine's gala and not me? I am one of the fastest tank engines on the mainland."

"Thomas is in the gala because he's Sodor's fastest tank engines," Duck answered.

"I don't think he is," said Gordon firmly, "he was being pushed along with a jet engine!"

"I wasn't my fault!" grumbled Thomas, "you know that it was Cranky that started the jet engine."

"He's still the fastest tank engine on Sodor," said Henry, "and Charlie, you're needed on Thomas' branch line, that's probably why you're not in the gala."

"I guess so," Charlie sighed.

At long last, the day of the high speed engine's gala came. The engines were parked along the platforms #3-5, while platforms one and two were still open for business.

Greg and Gordon were parked at Platform 5, Spencer and Benjamin were parked at platform 4, while Pendennis Castle and Thomas were parked near platform 3.

"This is the way to be seen," Spencer boasted.

"Will you quit being a show-off?" grumbled Gordon.

"Me? You're the show-off around here."

"I am not, you are!"

The two engines argued until the stationmaster came out and stopped the fighting at once, "now engines," he called, "the visitors are starting to come in, so please be on your best behavour."

"We will!" said all the engines in unison.

And they did too, the engines were well behaved and explained about their record breaking runs and the work they did in the olden days. Thomas also explained about his high speed run with the jet engine.

"It was the first time that I actually got to run down the line at such speeds," he was saying.

"Except when you were coupled up to the back of my express that one time," called Gordon.

Thomas blushed a deep shade of red, "well, the first time I went fast and still could see where I was going."

"I tell you," said Thomas' Driver, "it was exciting to go that fast, but we were lucky that the jet engine ran out of fuel before we really got into trouble."

Most of the other engines were listening to the story too, except for Spencer.

The day's gala was indeed a wonderful success, the people who came that day promised to let their friends know about the railway's gala event.

The days passed, and the gala was proving to be very popular, and before long, it was the night before the railway's grand high speed engine race.

Spencer had a plan to win the race, he was going to cheat, with a little help.

While he was at the steamworks, he had noticed some boys were looking eager to have some fun. When they came up to Spencer, he made them an offer that they were interested in.

"I need to win that high speed engine's race at all costs, if you can stabotage some of the other engines on the night before the race, then I won't inform anyone about you."

"You got yourself a deal," said the boys.

And sure enough on that night, the boys returned. There were three of them, and they all had tools in their hands.

"Let's start with the big blue engine," said the eldest boy.

Spencer watched them and smirked to himself, "my reputation is on the line, at least now, Gordon won't be able to beat me in the race."

The boys did what they did, they loosened Gordon's siderods, and poured some of the cinders and ashes down his funnel.

"That should do it," said the middle aged boy, "we'll give him more of that stuff tomorrow."

"Good," Spencer snickered.

But he wasn't smiling for long when he noticed the night duty shunter talking with Oliver. The boys made a mad dash into the dark of night, nobody saw them go except for Spencer.

"Now I'll win the race for sure, those other engines won't be able to beat me, am I ever clever."

The next morning, Gordon's crew got him ready, but he felt sick.

"What's the matter with you Gordon?" his Driver asked, "you were doing just fine yesterday."

"I don't know," Gordon groaned, "it almost feels like my smokebox is filled with Cinders and Ashes."

"That can't be right," said Gordon's fireman, "I cleaned out your smokebox yesterday."

"Don't worry Gordon," said his Driver, "after the race, we'll give you a complete cleanout."

"Thank you," coughed Gordon.

Thomas in the meanwhile had no trouble getting steamed up, his crew moved him away from the sheds and over to where they left the jet engine. They spent a few minutes checking everything over, then they coupled Thomas to the truck.

"Well Thomas," said his Driver, "this is it, are you ready to go racing again?"

"You bet I am, I've been ready to go for ages."

Just as he was moving off sight, Thomas could see that Gordon wasn't looking too good. Gordon was coughing and wheesing as he made his way to the big station.

"Poor Gordon," Thomas thought to himself.

At the big station, all was ready to go. All six engines were parked side by side as they waited for the flag to wave. Spencer looked over to Gordon and chuckled quietly.

"Oh my Gordon," he chuckled, "you don't look so good to me, maybe you should go to the steamworks to have your boiler looked over."

"Not a chance," Gordon huffed, "I'm staying in this race, and there's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"It isn't me that's going to slow you down," but Spencer only said it to himself.

The stationmaster of Knapford then walked forward in front of the engines, "now remember, you are to go from here to Crovan's Gate where you'll get turned around, then you will come back here. Understood?"

"Understood!" said all the engines in unison.

For that race alone, the Fat Controller had cancelled all morning goods and passenger trains that went from Knapford to Crovan's Gate. People didn't mind at all, they were looking forward to seeing the race go on.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Thomas said to Gordon, "the last thing the Fat Controller needs is for you to be out of action."

"I'll try to be careful," Gordon gasped as he spluttered again.

Spencer continued to smirk to himself, he was sure that his plan was going to work.

The Stationmaster walked back to the side of the lines, then the Fat Controller stood up onto a wooden box with a green flag in his hand, "on your marks," he called, "get set - and go racing!"

He waved the flag, then with the blows of the whistles from the six engines, they started away. Thomas knew he would never be able to catch them at first, but he wasn't worried, he was hoping that his jet engine had enough fuel.

"Don't worry Thomas," said his Driver, "that jet engine's got more than enough fuel to help you keep up with those bigger engines."

"But it's getting past them that's going to be the problem," Thomas muttered quietly to himself.

The race was intense, Benjamin took the lead at first, then Spencer dashed ahead, Greg was able to take away the lead for a while before Pendennis Castle went rattling by.

Gordon was trying his hardest to catch up, but he felt like he was going to fall apart.

"Easy does it Gordon," soothed his Driver, and he patted Gordon's boiler. Gordon felt more stuffed up than excited, he wasn't having a good time at all.

Thomas on the other hand was having a grand time, he enjoyed the thrill of racing.

"Give it up Thomas," called Spencer, "you'll never be able to beat me, you already lost to me once before and you're going to lose again."

"Say all you want Spencer, but one way or another, I will catch up with you!"

The fireman went back to turn on the jet engine, once it was turned on, he rushed his way carefully back to the cab.

"Hang on tight!" he cried to the Driver.

For a while, Thomas was still under his power, but then the jet engine began to roar, and Thomas was pushed down the line.

"Here we go again!" Thomas cried in excitment.

He roared past Gordon, then he went dashing past Pendennis Castle, then Benjamin. Soon enough, he was joining Spencer and Greg in the battle for first place.

"I have to win, I have to win," panted Spencer, "my reputation is at stake!"

"Do my best, do my best," Greg puffed to himself.

"I will win, I will win," panted Thomas.

At their speeds, the engines couldn't see the people waving to them, but they didn't mind, they knew that everyone was cheering them on! The five engines whistled back to thank them, while Gordon coughed and spluttered.

"What's wrong with Gordon?" asked a young boy.

"I don't know," answered his mother, "he looks sick."

"Then why isn't he resting in bed? That's what I do when I'm not feeling well."

"I don't know why."

"I must keep going, I must keep going," Gordon panted, "oh what is the matter with me?"

"He is running a little slower than he normally does," said the fireman, "maybe we should've cleared Gordon's firebox and smokebox earlier."

"I know," sighed Gordon's Driver, "but it's too late now, Gordon will just have to keep going, I'm sure he'll be okay."

Gordon silently agreed with his crew as he continued to say "I must keep going," to himself over and over again.

When the six engines were at Crovan's Gate, they quickly got turned around and race down the line. As Spencer expected, Gordon was one of the last engines to arrive.

"You look terrible," Spencer called, "you might want to stay here for a checkover."

"Not a chance!" Gordon snapped, "I will continue racing, I'll beat you."

"We'll see," Spencer chuckled and raced off.

"You might want to take his advice," called Sir Handel from his little shed, "you don't look so good."

"I know that, but I will not give that Spencer a chance to gloat over beating me. I will do my best and win!"

Once Gordon was turned around, he gave it his all as he tried to catch up to the others. At last, he managed to pass Benjamin.

"You've got guts my friend," said Benjamin, "don't stop now, keep it going!"

"I will!" Gordon cried.

His fireman shovelled in more coal into Gordon's firebox, while the Driver adjusted the controls to give Gordon a chance to race on. He was soon close to Pendennis Castle.

"I can win this, I can win this," Gordon thought happily to himself.

Gordon would have gone past, had it not been for the cinders and ashes and his siderods. As he neared a small brick bridge, Gordon and his crew felt something fall onto the boiler.

"What's going on?" asked the Driver.

"It's Cinders and ashes!" cried the fireman, "they were tossed from the bridge!"

But the worse was yet to come. Gordon couldn't keep puffing on with all the cinders and ashes in his funnel, he began to have sharp pains come into his boiler. Gordon went slower and slower, and then, with a loud SNAP! Gordon's siderods came loose and smashed his side with a metal crunching sound.

"OW!" Gordon cried in pain.

Spencer heard and smiled, "looks like he won't be able to beat me after all," he chuckled.

Greg and Pendennis Castle raced on ahead, leaving Gordon to slow to a stop. Thomas looked back to Gordon, he felt sorry for the big blue engine, then he remembered a promise that he and Gordon made.

"Remember little Thomas, United We Stand, Together we fall, you help me and I'll help you."

Those words repeated in Thomas' mind, until he made a serious decision.

"Turn off the jet engine!" he cried.

"What?" The Driver asked, "but Thomas, if we do that, then you won't be able to win the race!"

"I don't care, there are some things that are more important than winning a race, like helping an old friend when he's in trouble." The Driver and fireman knew that Thomas was right.

So the fireman went back to turn the jet engine off, then once back under his own power, Thomas' Driver braked him to a stop, then they went back for Gordon. The signalman changed the points, then Thomas moved over to the big engine's tender.

"Are you okay Gordon?"

"Not really Thomas," he groaned, "I feel sick."

Gordon's driver and fireman had already removed the siderods, and after checking over the damage, they were in the cab putting the fire out.

"You should go Thomas," Gordon groaned, "if you don't, then Spencer will win the race."

"I don't think he's going to win first place," Thomas chuckled, then he spoke seriously, "now what do you say we get going? I'll give you a little nudge."

Gordon was slightly confused, but then he remembered the old promise that he and Thomas made.

"Thank you Thomas, you are a good friend."

"You don't know how many times I've heard that," the two engines had to chuckle at that moment.

Thomas really had his work cut out for him, Gordon was heavy on his own, and without the jet engine's help, Thomas had to push and pull with every ounce of steam he had.

For less than a minute, Gordon didn't move, then at last, Gordon began to move, slowly at first, then the speed picked up.

"Well done Thomas!" called Gordon, "keep it up!"

Thomas couldn't speak, but he did smile as they rolled down the line.

Thomas was right about Spencer not winning first place, he came in third place, as Greg had already reached the platform, and as for Pendennis Castle, he was coming up to another platform.

"I can't believe it," Spencer groaned, "I lost! Oh well, at least Gordon won't be coming in anytime soon."

When Spencer came to a stop, there came a loud chrous of cheers and whistles, "oh thank you," smiled Spencer, "you're too kind, thank you so much."

He soon found out that the cheering wasn't for him, it was for someone else.

"Must be that Benjamin, cause I know Thomas will take..."

Spencer's thoughts were interupted when he heard two loud whistles blowing, one belonged to Thomas, and the other belonged to - Gordon! Gordon moved slowly along, wheel turn by wheel turn, while Thomas puffed and pushed with all his might, until the two engines reached the fourth platform beside Spencer.

Benjamin then pulled in and stopped at platform 5.

The Fat Controller and some important looking judges came walking over to the engines, "you have all done well," said one of the judges, then he turned to Greg, "you have done your railway proud, you were the fastest engine in the race today."

"Thank you sir," smiled Greg.

Then the Fat Controller walked up to Pendennis Castle, "you were great out there, which is why we are proud to award with the second place ribbon for your owner, I'll be sure to tell him how well you did."

"Thank you indeed sir," smiled Pendennis Castle.

Spencer's spirits lifted as he watched one of the judges walk up to him with the third place ribbon, he was expecting to get it and take it back to the Duke and Duchess of Boxford. He was surprised however when they walked past him and walked over to Gordon and Thomas.

"You showed great courage out there today," said the second Judge, "and real kindness for others, which is why we are proud to award you both with third and fourth place ribbons."

Gordon and Thomas were shocked, but they were happy, but Spencer wasn't.

"Wait a minute!" he cried, "I should be in third place, I came in after that Great Western Engine!"

"You cheated!" said the Fat Controller sternly, "we caught up with your little helpers, thanks to Kevin. He caught them as they were stealing tools from the steamworks, they are now being dealt with by the police and their parents."

"You should've known better," said Pendennis Castle.

Spencer sulked, then he looked over to Gordon and Thomas, "they cheated too! Thomas pushed him here!"

"I didn't!" Thomas cried, "I just gave Gordon a little nudge here. He did most of the work alone once his crew put his fire back in his firebox."

Spencer groaned, he knew that the Duke and Duchess were not going to be pleased with him, but for right now, he knew he was in real trouble with the Fat Controller.

The judges and the Fat Controller then walked over to Benjamin, and gave him a ribbon too.

Spencer was indeed dealt with by the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, and the Fat Controller too, now he wished that he hadn't been so stupid. As for the boys, they were told to work in the steamworks, cleaning up any mess that was made in there, I bet now they won't try to steal from businesses again.

The visiting engines left the following next day.

"Tell Gordon we wish him well," Greg said to Thomas.

"And tell him that we are proud of him for not giving up when he was sick," said Benjamin, "and you should be proud for what you did."

"I just did what any engine would do," Thomas smiled, "we engines stand united, and together we fall. We help you, and you help us."

"Quite right," said the two engines together.

Then once their guards had blown their whistles, the two engines set off for the docks.

Pendennis Castle stayed on Sodor for a little while longer, he pulled the express whenever the other engines were busy. Then after a week and a half, Gordon returned from the steamworks, he looked like a new engine.

He returned in time to see Pendennis Castle go off for his home, "you have a wonderful railroad here," Pendennis Castle said kindly, "I hope to return one day and work alongside with you engines again."

"We hope so too," Gordon smiled, even Thomas was quick to agree.

But before Pendennis Castle was to go, they saw Spencer race past with a goods train, he looked cross, but he remained respectfully silent.

"I don't think you two will need to worry about that Spencer again, I think he's learned a lesson."

Thomas and Gordon happily agreed, then they whistled a friendly goodbye as Pendennis Castle puffed slowly out of the station and start on his journey home.

When Pendennis Castle was gone, Gordon looked over to Thomas, "thank you for helping me Thomas," he said, "I owe you one."

"No you don't," Thomas smiled, "Remember when you got Rocky to help get the Fat Controller's car out of the haystack? I think that makes us even."

Then they heard a guard's whistle blow, and Thomas began to feel himself moving.

"Well Gordon, I'll see you around, just remember 'United We Stand, together we Fall...'."

"You help me and I help you," Gordon finished proudly.

Thomas blew off a happy whistle as he began his journey back to the branch line.

That night, Thomas told the other engines all about the race and all about the history of the many engines there. Percy, Toby, Daisy, Rosie and Emily listened in with interest.

And later that night, when they were all asleep, Thomas dreamed about the high speed engines, and dreamed about the thrill of speed. Though secertly, between you and me, I think he enjoys dreaming about it more than actually doing it. I think Thomas is just happy to go at the speed he normally goes at, but only Thomas knows that for sure.

_Oh yes, let's go!_

_Let's Go Racing!_

_Go Engines!_

_Racing down the tracks,_

_(Racing down the tracks)_

_The engines are a flyin'_

_Watch them fly by_

_(Watch them fly by)_

_Hold onto your hats,_

_For these engines are coming your way!_

_(Coming your way!)_

_Benjamin, Greg and Pendennis Castle_

_They're coming your way!_

_(Coming your way!)_

_Spencer and Gordon are also on the way_

_And roaring behind them_

_With a jet engine behind him,_

_It's Thomas!_

_Oh yes, let's go!_

_Let's Go Racing!_

_Go Engines!_

_Huff by puff_

_Wheel turn by wheel turn,_

_Engines speed down the track_

_Closer and closer_

_To the finish line_

_(to the Finish line)_

_Hold onto your hats,_

_For these engines are coming your way!_

_(Coming you way!)_

_Benjamin, Greg and Pendennis Castle_

_They're coming your way!_

_(Coming your way!)_

_Spencer and Gordon are also on the way_

_And roaring behind them_

_With a jet engine behind him,_

_It's Thomas!_

_Oh yes, let's go!_

_Let's Go Racing!_

_Go Engines!_

_Be careful not to cheat_

_(not to cheat)_

_Or you're out of the race_

_Thomas and Gordon worked together_

_(worked together)_

_Winning Third Place_

_(Third Place)_

_And now they are Sodor's fastest and best engines_

_Hold onto your hat,_

_For these engines are coming your way!_

_(Coming your Way!)_

_Benjamin, Greg and Pendennis Castle_

_They're coming your way!_

_(Coming your way!)_

_Spencer and Gordon are also on the way_

_And roaring behind them_

_With a jet engine behind him,_

_It's Thomas!_

_Oh yes, let's go!_

_Let's Go Racing!_

_Go Engines!_

_Go Go Thomas!_

_Go Go Gordon!_

_Racing like the wind,_

_They are the fastest engines..._

_On Sodor!_


	28. Harold Takes a Dip

_**Harold Takes a Dip**_

Harold the Helicopter has worked on the Island of Sodor for many years, he's a friend to everyone, including the Sodor engines. Whenever trouble comes up, Harold is usually the first on the scene everytime and does what he can to help.

He used to live at the airport near the harbour on Thomas' branch line, but when the new search and rescue was built, Harold was moved there to be used in emergencies. When he isn't needed, he's often called upon to carry cargo.

Whenever Percy sees Harold, he often says, "watch how much you're taking whirly bird, unless you like being rescued by 'slow' railway engines." Harold knew Percy was only teasing, but he could very well remember the fall he took when he took too many parcals that one time.

"That's something I wouldn't like to do again," he said to his pilot.

"Neither do I, I nearly broke my neck that day you know."

"I said I was sorry."

Ever since Harold took that fall out of the sky, the manager of the search and rescue decided it would be best to give Harold a weight limit.

"This way, he won't have a repeat performance of what happened that day," he was saying to Harold's pilot, "I know this may seem unfair, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Understood sir," agreed the pilot.

Because of Harold's weight limit, he couldn't do all that he could do at one time and this proved to be a big problem when it came to the postal services. This meant that Tom the Postman, Thomas, Percy and Oliver had more than enough work to do.

"I don't mind the extra work myself," said Percy to the others one day, "it's actually good for us and for the post train."

"I have to agree there Percy," said Oliver, "but there are times when there is just too much for us to carry on our own."

"Too true Oliver," said Tom, "me van's overloaded with parcals and letters, if this keeps up, my cheif is going have to give me a bigger van just to carry it all or give me a partner to help bring them to you."

"What about Harold though, doesn't he help anymore?" Thomas asked.

"At times, but he can't carry that much anymore thanks to that weight limit," said Percy, "haven't you heard about that?"

"I'm sorry to say that I haven't, I've been far too busy with the branch line work to hear such things."

"Well if you ask me, it serves Harold right. He often called us slow and outdated."

"He's only joking around Percy," said Oliver firmly, "he knows we're just as useful as he is," Oliver then spoke to Tom, "isn't there a way you could talk with the search and rescue centre's manager and ask him if Harold can take more post?"

"I've already tried that, but he won't change the weight limit at all," Tom sighed, "never mind though, it's like Percy said, we don't mind doing this work, right?"

"That's right," Thomas said cheekily as he was copying Ferdinand's favourite saying.

"I think all that time on Misty Island has changed Thomas a little too much," Percy whispered to his Driver. His Driver said nothing at all. The signal dropped, and Percy puffed away with the first post train, still chuckling.

At the search and rescue centre, Harold was talking to Captain, "I wish the manager would take off the stupid weight limit," he was saying, "otherwise I won't be as useful as I ever was. If this keeps up, he might end replacing me with one of those new helicopters."

"I don't think that would happen old boy," said Captain, "even with this weight limit, you're still just as useful as you've ever been."

"Well I sure don't feel like it."

"Just give the manager some time, and show him just how useful you are, I'm sure something's bound to change."

"I hope you're right Captain."

That night, Harold couldn't sleep at all. Everytime he closed his eyes, he would dream about the moments he fell down from the sky and towards the haystack. Just before he crashed, he would wake up.

"That was a long time ago," he panted quietly, "so why I am so worried about it?"

He then thought about what he told Captain earlier that day. He was now starting to question his reliability and started to worry about his future, "what if the manager decides to replace me? The newer helicopter's are faster and stronger than me after all."

Harold shuddered at the thought of it, but he was worried.

He was still worrying when he was taken out to carry the post. Percy called out, "be careful with how much you take!" This time, Harold didn't chuckle or laugh, this time he took Percy's joke to heart.

"Maybe I should retire now while I'm still in one piece," he said to his pilot.

"You can't be serious," he said, "you're a useful helicopter Harold and don't you ever forget that!"

But that didn't cheer Harold up at all.

As he and his pilot landed safely on the helicopter pad, they could hear the bells in the centre go off. Then Harold could see a worker come over with a long piece of rope, "there's a small emergency just past the docks," he said, "a group of boaters are stranded because their motor broke down and they have no way of getting their boat to shore."

"In that case," said the pilot, "Climb onboard!"

Once the man was onboard, Harold took off into the sky and towards the dockyards.

When he arrived, he was met by a strong blast of wind, it blew hard into him and nearly forced him back.

"It's almost as strong as a gale," he groaned and continued onwards. It didn't take Harold long to find the boaters, they were indeed stranded as they were waving to the helicopter.

"Easy does it now," said the rescue operator to the pilot.

The pilot eased Harold down slowly until they were near the front of the boat, then the rescue operator tossed down the rope to the boaters. The pilot of the boat tied one end of the rope to the mast of the boat, while the rescue operator tied the other end of the rope to one of Harold's legs.

Just as they were about to tow the boat to shore, they hit a wind pocket and bounced upwards.

"You better get back inside," called Harold's pilot, "I fear we might be going down."

The rescue operator did climb back in and it's a good thing he did too. Harold bounced up again and moved a yard before the rope snapped and he started to fall towards the water.

"Oh no!" he cried, "help! I don't want to have a bath!"

But there was nothing anyone could do by now - Harold went into the water, blades first, with a loud splash! A few seconds later, the pilot and the rescue operator came up for air.

"That wasn't suppose to happen," groaned Harold's pilot.

"Oh well," groaned the rescue operator as he swam to the boat, "these things happen from time to time. Once we get into the boat, I'll phone the search and rescue centre for help."

Within minutes, a boat crane came out to lift Harold out of the water, and Captain came to tow the boat to shore. When they reached the docks, Cranky the Crane looked down at Harold and laughed, "now I've seen everything, first a green whaled monster and now a white shark with wings."

"It's not funny," shivered Harold.

It wasn't long before Harold was lifted off the boat and placed onto a flatbed. Salty then took Harold back to the search and rescue centre, Harold didn't say a word at all.

When they arrived, they found the manager waiting for them. Harold's pilot explained everything to the manager.

"I see," he said after a while, "Well these things do happen sometimes."

"You might as well replace me sir," Harold groaned, "Today's little accident just proves of how useless I am, I couldn't stop myself and I didn't help those boaters, I'm only good as a museum piece."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Harold," said the manager, chuckling a little, "from what Sir Topham Hatt has told me, you have always been a useful helicopter, despite the one fall, you still manage to come through when the going gets tough. I would never dream of replacing such a useful piece of machinery like yourself."

"Do you mean it sir?"

"Of course I do."

"I told you he would never replace you," called Captain as he pulled up to his dock.

"And now Harold, once you have been repaired, I would like you to help with the postal services again - with no weight limit."

Harold just beamed with joy!

By the next morning, Harold was out and about once, flying all around the Island of Sodor and delivering the post. He was once again cheerful and said to Percy, "watch out for water Percy! We wouldn't want you to get stuck in a flood again!"

"Show off!" Percy muttered, deep down though, he was happy to have Harold help out once more.

**Author's Note:**

Harold's dip into the water is based on the true life event of a helicopter falling into the water when it was being used in a soap opera to rescue a stranded boat. It bounced more than a few times due to some air pockets and sank into the water, blades first. Luckily, the pilot and the other passenger escaped from the helicopter unharmed.


	29. Hanging By a Thread

_**Hanging By a Thread**_

From the skies above the Island of Sodor, Jeremy the Jet Plane has seen many incidents occur either on the railway, or on the roads. He knows though that anything can happen in the skies as well, especailly when Tiger Moth the Bi-plane is flying around.

Tiger Moth and his pilot are still as reckless as the day they first came to the Island of Sodor, they've been lucky to escape disaster, but luck isn't always on their side, especially when they fly too low and might crash into hay bales. Despite it all, the danger continues and Tiger Moth is a wild plane that can't be controlled, no matter how hard anyone tries.

One day, Jeremy was in his hanger being looked over by the workers. They worked hard all day long, but Jeremy felt miserable.

"I can't wait to take off again soon," he thought to himself.

It was then that he noticed an engine stopping close by to his hanger, the signal was red, so it had to stop. It was Douglas with a goods train.

"Mornin' Jeremy," called Douglas, but he didn't look too happy.

"Good morning Douglas," said Jeremy, "is there something wrong?"

"Te auld Tiger Moth, that's te problem," he grumbled as he looked up to the sky, "yon plane went flyin' over my head before I came here."

The two looked up to the clear blue sky, and sure enough, there was Tiger Moth again. He was flying dangerous low and was doing some dangerous tricks.

"Not again," grumbled Jeremy.

"That's te third time the yonder plane's bin flyin' over me, he nearly smashed te funnel oof of me," grumbled Douglas, "doesna that yonder pilot learn a single thing when te manager scolds him?"

"Not really, those warnings go in through one ear, and fly out the other, if you know what I mean."

"Och, I do knaw what ye mean," groaned Douglas as he looked up. The signal had changed to green, "weel, I had better go, take care Jeremy and watch oot for yon Tiger Moth."

"Thanks Douglas, I will!"

With a friendly blow of his whistle, Douglas puffed away from the hanger, but not before Tiger Moth dashed in from above and flew over Douglas' funnel again.

"How kin an engine puff safely when that yonder plane flyin' dangerously close too uz?" grumbled Douglas.

He was more than glad to be going, he didn't want Tiger Moth to fly dangerous above him again.

Many of the other engines would say the same thing as they passed the Sodor airport. Tiger Moth would fly dangerous close to the engines, and like before, he and his pilot were scolded for their dangerous stunts, but nothing really changed. This went on and on, it looked like it was going to go on forever.

A few days after the inspection, Jeremy was finally allowed out of his hanger and tested before he was ready to take passengers.

It was quite chilly that morning, "brr," Jeremy shivered, "it's very cold out here, I wish I could fly south."

"What do you think you like, a Canada goose?" his pilot joked, "now come on, let's get you up in the air."

The pilot started Jeremy's mighty twin jet engines up, within seconds, they were whirring like the wind, which meant that Jeremy was ready to go. He rolled down the runway until his nose went up.

That's when it all happened, Tiger Moth suddenly came out of nowhere and was flying dangerous towards Jeremy.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Jeremy's pilot.

With some quick thinking, he was able to turn Jeremy away and avoid crashing into Tiger Moth, but the resulting wind blew hard on Tiger Moth. The Bi-plane started flying out of control, spinning around and around like a top as it neared the ground.

Tiger Moth's pilot fought to remain airborn, but it was no good, he closed his eyes and awaited for the horrible crash - but it never came. When the pilot opened his eyes, he could see that he and his plane were alright - sort of. Tiger Moth was dangling dangerously on power lines by one wheel and to make matters worse, he was upside down.

Jeremy came in for an emergency landing, then he went to phone for help.

Within minutes, the fire bargade arrived, followed closely by Kelly the Crane. When they saw the plane upside down, they thought it was just an unusual dream, but it wasn't a dream.

"We better get him down," said the fire cheif.

"There's a small problem though," said one of the firemen, "the plane is spilling fuel, if we're not careful, then it could start a fire."

"Yes, that would be bad - get some water on the fuel, and fast!"

Some of the other firemen got the hose out from the fire engine, and started spraying the fuel with the water. Then the fire cheif called to have the power cut until they were done with the rescue mission.

Soon, it was time to rescue the pilot, who groaned at being upside down for so long. They brought the fire engine's bucket close to the plane, but that's when they ran into another problem.

"We can't reach him," cried one of the firemen from below.

"Don't worry about it," called the fireman inside the bucket, "I've got an idea that just might work!"

"Well you better go though with it and fast!" called the cheif, "I don't know if that one little wheel can keep the plane up for too much longer!"

"I'm surprised that it's still hanging up there," said Kelly.

The fireman inside the bucket opened the side panal, then he leaned forward till he was standing on the top wing of Tiger Moth, then he leaned out his left leg.

"Come on!" he called.

The pilot undid his seatbelt, then while leaning on the fireman's left knee, he jumped over into the bucket, followed by the fireman.

"That was smart thinking there!" called the cheif.

The bucket was slowly lowered to the ground, where the airport manager was waiting for the pilot, he didn't look too happy. "I would like to have a few words with you," he said to the pilot.

So the pilot followed the manager to his office, he was sure that he wasn't going to like this conversation.

After they were inside the building, Harold arrived and with Kelly's help, the two were able to lower Tiger Moth safely to the ground. The workers at the airport inspected the bi-plane over to look for any damage.

"Just a broken propeller," said one of the workers, "that's all!"

"It's lucky that we got here when we did," said the fire cheif, "otherwise, this would've really turned into a disaster."

"Yes," agreed Jeremy from the runway, "it's lucky that you came."

Later on that day, the manager came to speak with Jeremy, "I thought you would like to know that Tiger Moth won't be doing anymore of his tricks for a while," said the manager, "he's been grounded for a couple of months."

Jeremy sighed happily for a second, "now," continued the manager, "I would like to say that you and your pilot did a great job in avoiding Tiger Moth, I think you're finally ready to take passengers into the sky again."

"That would be nice sir," smiled Jeremy.

Jeremy and his pilot had a lovely day, people were pleased with his performance, and his engines ran as if they were brand new. He couldn't have felt happier.

Then later on that night, as he was being brought back into his hanger, Douglas came by with another goods train.

"I hear that yon Tiger Moth has bin grounded," he said.

"It's true," Jeremy smiled, "you won't have the problem of him buzzing around your head again for another two months."

"Tha's good," smiled Douglas, "but what aboot when he's in te air again?"

"That's been covered too, last I heard from my manager, his pilot is going to be taking a piloting course, so maybe he'll come back as a better pilot."

"I hope so," Douglas said quietly.

The signal dropped and Douglas puffed away to tell the other engines the good news. I hope though that Jeremy is right, and that when the pilot of Tiger Moth is ready to return to the skies, that he'll be a little more careful, and to not let the same mistake happen again.

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on the actual event of a plane getting caught in a jet's wind and flies into power lines, and dangles upside down on one wheel. Firefighters had to sprain water on the fuel before they could rescue the pilot. The bucket couldn't reach the pilot, so one of the firemen leaned out his left leg, which gave the pilot a chance to cross safely to the bucket. Date and whereabouts of when this happened is unknown.


	30. Crash Landing

_**Crash Landing**_

An air show was coming to Sodor, many of the most famous planes in the entire world were coming to take part in the event. Jeremy was quite excited to see many of these planes, including old war planes.

They often told off stories about what they did during the wars.

"It was dangerous to fly around," said one of the military jets, "the enemy was always around us, they were trying to bring us down."

"What did you do?" Jeremy asked.

"Well," the jet chuckled, "my pilot and I lead those bad guys on a dangerous path towards a mountain, then at the last second, we rose up into the clouds and away from the mountain, the enemy went crashing into the mountain and crashed to the ground, where our troops arrested them."

"Remarkable," Jeremy smiled.

Lots of fighter jets and passenger jets had many stories to tell as well, Jeremy didn't mind listening to the many stories, he thought it was interesting.

At last, the great day had come, some of the engines brought people to the airport. The visitors could either see the planes on static display, or they would watch the planes fly in the air doing their tricks.

Since Tiger Moth had been grounded, some other skillful bi-planes did the tricks in his place.

Everyone was having a wonderful time, and this included people, engines and the planes too.

"There's been more people coming to our airport during this air show than we've ever had before," Jeremy said to his pilot.

"I've noticed that too," he smiled, "this is quite a huge crowd."

Of course, like the many planes of the Sodor airport, the visiting planes and jets needed to have their engines checked over whenever they were in the hangers.

Military jets were often seen in the hangers during the night more than the other planes.

"You must need a lot of work to keep yourselves up in the air," Jeremy was saying to the same military jet from before.

"That is true my young friend, we are quite old planes and do require alot of attention, we're not as young as we used to be during our fighting days."

"I understand what you mean, some of the engines on both railways are the same way, and often say it too. Still, it must be great to be a famous plane, people waving to you all day long, and having your picture taken too, it must be great."

"Yes, it can good, but let me tell you this, what's most important to us older planes, is the pride of knowing that we are still in action and not disposed of."

"You mean scrapped, right?" Jeremy asked kindly.

"Yes, but take my tip and don't mention that word to some of the other planes around here, it makes them nervous and shake when they someone say that word."

"Trevor, Stepney and Old Slow Coach could tell you the same thing, they don't like hearing that word either," Jeremy smiled, "Well, I better get back to my hanger, I'll see you later."

"See you later kid!" smiled the military jet.

He watched happily as Jeremy was rolled over to his hanger, then once the jet plane was out of sight, he sighed happily, "ah youth, always full of energy, it feels good to share some wisdom with them."

The next day was a chance for the military jets to show off their skills. They flew in so many directions at once, that people had a hard time taking pictures of them, let alone watching them.

Then the jet that Jeremy had been talking to was finally ready to go. He rolled down the runway, then he soared into the sky.

"Watch this my friend, this is how I used to do things during the war."

Jeremy and the visitors watched as the plane did flips, loops, blow off smoke signals and flew close to the ground that someone could easily reach up and touch them.

"That was remarkable," Jeremy smiled.

The military jet was quite pleased to hear that, but his pilot was getting anxious.

"We better take it easy old boy," said the pilot, "I have a strong feeling that we're going to be flying into trouble."

The jet agreed and so they decided to come in for a landing - that's when they found out that disaster was coming in. Just as the jet was going in for his landing, his engines suddenly went out.

"Not now!" groaned the pilot, "up, come on, up!"

Try as he might, the pilot just could not get his plane to get back up in the air or get the engines to start. He tried hard to land on the runway, but it looked like it was going to be a terrible crash.

"Get out now," cried the jet, "safe yourself."

The pilot sighed deeply, "good luck my friend," he pulled on the lever, and he flew right out of cockpit, just as the jet got closer to the ground. It's left wing slid along on the runway, until it flipped and burned into flames.

Upon seeing this horrible crash, the airport manager called for the fire bargade and all the employees to help put the fire out and see if anyone had been hurt.

Luckily nobody had been hurt by the plane's scattered parts, but the jet was a different story.

He was badly damaged and now looked like a scrap plane. Once the fire was put out, Kelly lifted the mighty jet off the ground and lowered him onto Nelson's flatbed, then he towed the mighty jet to the repairs shops at the airport.

Jeremy was in complete shock when he saw his 'hero' being brought to the shops by Nelson.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked.

The once proud mighty jet didn't say anything, he felt battered and bashed all over, and was too hurt to say a single word. Jeremy soon found out what happened from his pilot.

"From what I was told from the figther jet's pilot, the engines just stopped working, that's why he went crashing towards the ground."

"That's terrible," Jeremy groaned, "I hope they can repair him back to the way he was."

"I'm not sure if that's going to be possible, usually a large crash like that means that the plane is scrapped."

Jeremy hoped that wouldn't happen to the mighty wartime fighter jet.

For a long time, there was no word on the condition of the fighter jet, then on the last day of the air show, everyone got a huge surprise.

"Look up!" shouted a little girl.

Everyone looked up, and gasped. There was the mighty jet plane flying above them, he looked as good as new, he even sounded like he was brand new.

"Well I'll be," Jeremy gasped, "he's back!"

People clapped and cheered as the mighty jet plane continued with all the tricks that he been doing before the accident, and much more.

When the show was done for the day, he brought over to where Jeremy was.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay," Jeremy smiled.

"It feels good to be back in one piece," smiled the jet, "I didn't like being in a few dozen billon pieces. They thought that restoring me back to my original form was going to be impossible, but they were soon proven wrong?"

"How?"

"They used the original blueprints to put me back together, they were in a special conpartment inside of my cab."

"Lucky you," Jeremy smiled.

"That's not all," the mighty jet continued, "they also made some improvements on my engine too, which now allows to me soar high like I did when I was when I was younger. Anyways youngster, I'm needed back at my hanger back home, I hope to see you around again."

"I hope so too, but before you go, what is your name? I never got it when we first met."

"The name is 'The Flying Wonder', remember it well."

"I will."

Jeremy watched as the jet rolled away towards the runway. Once on the runway, he rolled down it going faster and faster, it's nose rose up, the landing gear went back inside of him, and rose up into the sky.

"Farewell Jeremy!" cried the Flying Wonder, "see you around!"

"See you around!" Jeremy called back.

He watched as the Flying Wonder and the other visiting planes all took off for their homes, then his pilot drove him back to his hanger. That night, Jeremy dreamed as any jet plane will about good times in the past.

**Author's Note:**

Flying Wonder's crash was inspired by the actual wing tip crash that happened during an air show. The jet's engines stopped working and the plane went crashing into the ground, the two pilots ejected just in time, just before the plane tumbled on the ground and exploded in flames, nobody was seriously hurt that day. The original plane was scrapped, but for 'Flying Wonder', I decided to give him a happy ending.


	31. Harold and the Flood

_**Harold and the Flood**_

Heavy rains had come to the Island of Sodor, which made work very difficult for everyone. But no what the weather, Harold the Helicopter was called upon whenever an emergency arose.

One wet rainy day, Harold was landing close to the cement works where Fergus the Traction engine was working.

"Hello Harold!" Fergus called, "what brings you around here?"

The answer soon became clear when Fergus saw a worker, who had been injuried, being taken over to Harold. Once he was inside, Harold's great arms whirred into action, "love to stay and chat Fergus, but duty calls!"

With that said, Harold took off to the hospital. The high winds blew hard aganist him and rain poured into his face, but Harold didn't give up.

"I can do it this time," he shouted to no one in particular, he could remember the incident of his 'dip' all too well and wasn't eager to go for another swim this time.

At last, Harold reached the hospital, the man was helped inside, then he took off into the sky again.

As he flew, he could see several streams overflowing their banks, "we'll probably be called out later to help," said Harold's pilot, "this looks to be the making of a flood."

A little later, Bertie the Bus was travelling down the roads carrying lots of children. Their regular school bus had broken down, so the school called for Bertie to come collect the children. Now there were only three left riding in him.

"Once we drop off the children," called Bertie's Driver, "We'll head off to the garage for a polish and a rest."

"That's good," groaned Bertie as he struggled to see through the rain that beat hard into his face.

But they weren't going to make it to the garage. Bertie was now crossing over a bridge, he was halfway across when he suddenly heard a loud crack from nearby.

"The bridge is falling apart!" he cried to his Driver.

Upon hearing this, the driver put his foot down hard on the pedal and tried to get Bertie off the bridge, but before they were off...the bridge broke, sending Bertie down the river. The children cried in panic while the Driver did all he could to keep Bertie from falling off that piece of the broken bridge. At last the piece of bridge stopped.

"We're safe," gasped the Driver.

"No we're not!" cried Bertie, "the water is still rising!"

And he was right, the water was rising and could sweep Bertie off down stream at any second. Bertie's Driver got out his mobile phone and phoned for help, "There's an emergency, we're stuck in a flood, there are three kids with us, please send help!"

At the search and rescue centre, Harold was resting in his hanger when he heard the emergency bell go off. A few seconds later, he saw his pilot come in.

"What's going on?" Harold asked.

"The flood waters have washed Bertie down the stream, along with three children onboard."

"We're going to get them out, then we'll deal with Bertie," said one of the rescue operators.

Harold didn't need telling twice, he was ready for action. Once his hanger doors were opened, he flew out into the wet rain once more while Butch the Tow Truck revved along below him.

At the site of the broken bridge piece, efforts were made to save the children, but nothing anyone tried would work, "we can't get to them without being washed away by the stream," they cried.

"Now I know how Toby felt," Bertie groaned quietly to himself.

Inside of him, his Driver was doing all he could to calm the kids down as they were frantic and screaming for help.

At last, Butch the Tow Truck arrived and following close behind was Harold the Helicopter, "Don't worry Bertie," he called, "We'll soon have you out of there!"

Butch looked at the situation carefully, "it's still risky for me to get over there," he called to Harold and his crew, "you better get the children out first, then we'll get Bertie!"

And that's what they did, Harold flew in as close as he could till he was over Bertie. One of the rescue operators opened the door, then he was lowered down with a rope and pulley while the other rescuers kept a strong grip on the rope.

"Easy does it now!" he called.

Harold eased down slowly while the rescuers held on tightly. At last, the first rescuer landed safely on Bertie's roof. With some help from Bertie's Driver, the first child was brought out.

"I'm scared," the little girl said to the rescuer.

"There's no need to be scared, we'll get you to safety," then he shouted to his friends, "pull us up!"

So they did, but there was trouble - several tree branches were in the way. The rescuer and the child got stuck in them, "ease Harold away slowly," cried the second rescuer to the pilot.

"Easy does it Harold," said his pilot.

Harold was eased forward, but the branches wouldn't let go, it was as if they wanted to send the rescuer and the child into the stream below, but at last, "he's free!" shouted the third rescuer.

He was right, the first rescuer and the little girl were free from the tree.

"Here she is," said the first rescuer, "now lower me down, I'm going back for the others."

And so, he was lowered down towards Bertie again while Butch and his crew got ready to rescue Bertie.

After ten long minutes, Harold finally had all the children on board as well as Bertie's Driver. He flew off to the nearby road where they were given blankets and cups of hot cocoa.

"Here we come Bertie!" called Butch.

In order to rescue Bertie, Butch was attached to a nearby tree so that he wouldn't be sweeped away. Once they got close enough to Bertie, one of the rescuers, who was riding on Butch's back end, attached Bertie to Butch's hook.

"We're good!" called the rescuer, "let's pull him out!"

And that's just what they did, Butch revved his engine, and moved inch by inch until he was out of the water. Bertie had a bumpy ride to shore, but was glad to be out of the flood.

"Thank you Butch and thank you Harold!" he called, "what would Sodor do without you two?"

No one really answered that question.

After Bertie was on Butch's flatbed, he was taken off back to his garage while Harold took the children and Bertie's Driver to the Search and Rescue centre.

When they arrived, Harold was cheered to the echo as all the workers and nearby engines cheered for Harold, "Well done Harold!" they called, "You were amazing today!"

The parents of the children were relieved when their kids ran up to them and gave them big hugs.

"It was scary," they said, "But Harold saved us. Thank you Harold!"

"Yes, thank you Harold," said one of the mothers.

The search and rescue centre's manager came over to speak to Harold, "I'm very proud of you Harold, you conquered bad weather to save these kids and Bertie too, you truely are a hero."

"That's true old boy," smiled his pilot.

The manager smiled, then he turned to the crowd of people and to the engines, "as you all know ladies and gentemen, Bertie the Bus was sweeped off a bridge today by raging flood waters, but thanks to the brave actions of Butch, our rescue operators and Harold the Helicopter, everyone made out safe and sound, so give it up for our heroes!"

The cheering resumed as people shouted out and the engines blew their whistles and honked their horns, just as Butch arrived.

"Well, that certainly was different wouldn't you agree Harold?"

"Indeed it was old friend," said Harold.

When the heavy rains finally stopped, workers were sent out to repair the bridge. The workers didn't stop until the work was complete and the bridge looked as good as new. Bertie's engine had been flooded, so he was in the shops for a while. He returned to the roads at around the time the bridge was complete.

He felt a little scared at first as he rolled over the bridge, but he had no need to worry at all. He rumbled over with it without hearing a creak or groan. Then he saw Harold, he gave Harold a salute with his horn and watched as his helicopter friend flew away.

"He may be a helicopter," Fergus said one day when he was told of the heroic story, "but he sure is a machine who knows when to do it right."

**Author's Note:**

This story was based on the real life event of a school bus that was sweeped away by raging flood waters. The nearby army base sent in a helicopter and several rescuers to save the children. One of the children was nearly ripped out of the rescuer's hands because of the nearby tree branches, but the helicopter was moved away and the little girl was saved. The other children and the bus driver were saved too and sometime later, the bus was hauled out of the water. When and where it happened is unknown.


	32. Flying Engines

_**Flying Engines**_

Just about every engine on the Thin Controller's railway remember of the incident at the level crossing where Sir Handel and George the Steamroller had their little disagreement. They all hoped that something like that would never happen again.

Since that day, a fence was placed between the road and the railway, and there was also a special set of crossing gates where the road crosses the railway. Despite the safety measures that were put into place, there are some drivers that can often too wild and as a result of it all, they will drive recklessly and more often than enough, they will crash into the fence and damage it.

Some of the little engines are worried when they pass that spot, cause they don't know what could happen.

"Thank goodness for that fence," said Sir Handel, "the last thing I need is for those some smart-attics to de-rail my trains."

"Better you than them," Duncan said cheekily.

Sir Handel shot him a dirty look. Duke did not find this joke assuming, he spoke sternly to the two little engines.

"You still need to take care out there, as the old saying goes 'accidents can happen'. Drivers of those cars and lorries can still break through the fence and have a serious accident."

"Duke is right," said Rheneas, "that's why we're all cautious near that part of the line. Although, I should advice everyone to take extra care if you happen to see the speed twins."

"Who?" Sir Handel and Duncan asked in unison.

"I know those two well," said Sakura, "I've seen them many times, I've actually had a few close calls whenever I saw them."

"I know those two twins as well," said Fearless Freddie, "I call them 'The Daredevils of the roads', they've gotten into trouble with the police many times before, and yet, they still race down the roads dangerously."

"Which only proves Duke's point," said Rheneas, "you need to be careful if you see them."

"How will we know if they are the speed twins?" Sir Handel asked.

"They drive red cars that are identical to each other," Sakura answered, "plus they race faster than normal cars and lorries, so it isn't that hard to spot those two."

"We can only hope that they are caught before someone really gets hurt," said Duke quietly, the little engines all agreed with him.

The next morning, Duncan was out with a goods train for the Wharf. So far, the journey was a good one, the trucks were being well behaved and they were running to time.

As he was coming to the crossing, he could see two identical red cars racing past the crossing gates as they were going down.

"Those must be the 'Daredevils of the road'," he said to his Driver.

"Not again," groaned the Driver, "don't they ever learn?"

"I guess not," added the fireman.

Duncan was quite right, they were 'The Daredevils of the road'. These two drivers were living up to their names as they raced their cars down the narrow road and at dangerous speeds.

One of the drivers drove past his friend, and nearly smashed into the fence.

"Watch where you're going!" Duncan cried. His Driver blew a whistle of warning to the daredevils, but they paid no attention and just continued on dangerously down the road.

"Now I understand what Rheneas and Duke were talking about," Duncan thought to himself, "I like a little excitment, but that's a little too much excitment."

Once he was at the Wharf, Duncan spoke to both Rheneas and Charlie about the twins and their near miss with the fence.

"I had a strong feeling that they were up to their old tricks again," groaned Rheneas, "they need to stop this silly nonsence before they hurt someone or themselves."

"I think they'll only learn when they get involved in accidents," said Charlie, "now, I haven't been on Sodor for too long, so I don't know too much about the engines that have gotten themselves involved in serious accidents."

Rheneas looked across to Duncan, who only looked down to his buffers, he was glad that Rheneas was not one to tease him about the time when his own rock n' roll antics got himself stuck in a tunnel and derailed several times.

"It's all because of the need for speed," said Rheneas' Driver, "for people or engines, they want to go as fast as they can go and in most cases, they'll do mostly anything to get it."

"Even pushing one out of the way," said Duncan, "I saw that as I was taking my goods train."

"Take care out there," called Charlie, "sooner or later, they might very well run into trouble."

Rheneas and his crew promised to be careful as they backed onto their special goods train. Once they were coupled up and the guard was in his van, Rheneas puffed on his way.

No sooner had he reached that one part of the line, Rheneas and his crew could hear tires screech voilently on the road beside them.

"There they go again," called Rheneas' Driver, "they never do give up."

"I smell trouble coming," said the fireman, "just wait and see."

He was right, trouble was coming. One of the cars had overtaken his buddy and was now in the lead, the other driver was very cross.

"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted to the leading driver, "I'm suppose to be in the lead!"

His buddy didn't answer him back, instead of going back, he went even faster. The Driver was so cross that he put his foot down to the pedal and sped up towards the other car. What happened next, shocked everyone who was seeing this, which included Rheneas and his crew.

The Driver's car rammed into the leading car's bumper with a small bump, then he started to push.

"What are you doing?" asked the leading driver.

The second driver didn't reply back, he continued to push his friend's car down the road, then it happened - the car went a different direction and heading towards the stone wall.

Rheneas' crew were able to apply the brakes just in time, now all they could do was watch in shock.

The first car smashed through the fence, smashing it to pieces, then it hit the wall hard - maybe a little too hard. The engine in the car suddenly went flying and landed on the crossing, while the car itself went back to the road and stopped.

"What a bang," gasped Rheneas' Driver.

The first driver climbed out of the car, then he laid down next to his car, just in case he was seriously injuried. Within seconds, the second driver pulled up beside the wrecked frame of the car.

"What a crash," said the second driver, who almost sounded like he was happy by what had happened, "maybe now you'll know better to overtake me."

"You're lucky that I'm okay," said the first driver sternly, "although I wish I could say the same for my car."

With the line blocked, Rheneas' Driver got out of the cab and walked up the line to phone for help, and soon, Kelly and Nelson arrived to help clear the mess.

"I've never seen a crash like this before," said Kelly.

"You and me both," agreed Nelson, "this is definetly a first."

While the damaged car was towed away, the police spoke to the two drivers, thankfully, the first driver was okay. Although, the words spoken by the police were short, but not sweet.

Rheneas had to stay until the wreckage was cleared away, which meant that he was late with his train. He was also late getting back to the sheds. When he arrived, he told the other engines all about what had happened.

"Well, this is a first time I've ever heard of a flying engine," chuckled Duke.

"At least it wasn't my fault," muttered Sir Handel.

"Even so," said Smudger, "that driver is lucky to be okay after a crash like that."

"Yes indeed," agreed Freddie, "and hopefully now, those two will learn to become better drivers and be a little more careful."

Rheneas and Sir Handel certainly hoped they would have learned something from today's events. And now, Duncan knew just what he was going to talk to Charlie about during the next time they meet.

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on the real life incident at the Pocono raceway on August 1st 2010, when a race car was pushed, then it hit the wall with a huge impact that the engine flew out a few feet away. The Driver was able to get out and lay down on his back for a while, thankfully he is okay.


	33. Louder Than Ever!

_**Louder Than Ever!**_

Rusty the little diesel engine has been working on the Narrow Gauge Railway for many years, he works with Mr. Hugh, the cheif engineer, in making sure that the tracks are all in good working order. Over the years that he's been on the railway, Rusty has had various different horns. First was his old fashioned horn, then his two-toned horn came along a few years later.

Rusty likes his two-toned horn, and so do the other engines, even though they had to get used to the sound at first.

One morning at the incline, Rusty was coming in with a train of empty slate trucks. He tried to greet Duncan with a cheerful 'Toot-toot' of his horn, but what came out sounded different. The horn made a loud groaning sound that echoed threw the yards.

"What's happened to my horn?" he asked his Driver.

"I'm not sure," said his Driver, "maybe something's blocking it, I'll blow it a little louder to get it out."

Rusty's Driver blew the horn again, but the same groaning noise came out, instead of his two-toned horn.

"Now that is an annoying sound," grumbled Duncan, "you might want to get that horn of yours checked."

"I quite agree with Duncan, for once," said Sir Handel as he came with some empty slate trucks ready to be taken up to the top of the incline, "your horn is just as important as our whistles are to us. I'm sure you don't want to go through the same problem that Duncan went threw."

Duncan grumbled crossly at Sir Handel, he didn't like being reminded of how he lost his whistle.

Rusty's Driver thought it was a good idea to have the horn looked over, so he telephoned the Thin Controller to inform him.

"Very well then," he said over the phone, "it's actually good timing, cause Rusty is suppose to go in for his annual checkup anyways. I'll ask Sakura to do his jobs till he returns."

Rusty found life a little dull in the workshops, but he was glad when he was finally given the chance to go back to the railway, but there was one small problem.

"Your old two-toned horn is worn out," said one of the workmen, "it'll take us a while to repair it, in the meantime, you'll have to borrow a spare diesel horn."

Rusty sighed, he didn't like the sound of that.

When he finally returned to the sheds, he blew a friendly 'hello' to Duke, Peter Sam and Freddie, but instead of a two-toned horn, or even a narrow gauge diesel's horn, what came out was a loud booming noise.

"Oh my," groaned Duke, "What was that?"

"That was my spare horn," groaned Rusty, "I have to use it until my two-toned horn is repaired. I hope it's soon, cause I think this horn is a little too loud."

Rusty was worried about what others would say about his horn. He didn't have too long to wait. During one of his track inspection runs, he was coming up to a level crossing and he blew his loud booming horn really loudly.

"What was that?" asked Madge, who was waiting there, then she gasped, "Rusty? Was that you?"

Rusty didn't reply, he remained quiet throughout the day. He never said a word, but his horn honked more and more as the day wore on, and everytime his horn sounded, Rusty felt like hiding.

Naturally that night, Sir Handel and Duncan made a fuss over how loud the horn was.

"I prefer Rusty's two-toned horn better," said Duncan, "at least it didn't make as much noise as this new horn."

"I swear that's even louder than BoCo's horn," said Sir Handel, "I bet Rusty's new horn is even louder than any other horn on Sodor."

Both Sir Handel and Duncan were quickly hushed by the other engines, then the other engines had to spend half the night soothing Rusty's hurt feelings, but it didn't do any good.

"I know my horn is too loud," he groaned, "I don't like it either, I'd rather have the stupid horn off of me."

Then he went silent throughout the rest of the night, the other little engines all felt sorry for Rusty.

The next morning, Rusty was out with a goods train, he was rumbling along quietly to the Wharf, he was still feeling a little bit upset from the previous night's discussion.

"I'd rather not use this horn," he thought to himself.

After getting down Culdee Fell hill, he was rumbling over a wooden bridge, but he could feel it sink. Once Rusty had been stopped on the other side of the bridge, his Driver went back to have a look.

"This isn't good," he said, "the bridge is falling apart, the wooden frames are rotted out."

"We better inform Mr. Hugh and the Thin Controller about this," said Rusty.

Suddenly, the two of them heard the sound of an engine's whistle, it was Smudger's whistle. The little dark green engine was puffing along with three passenger coaches behind him.

"STOP! STOP! STOP, SMUDGER, STOP!" the two of them cried.

Smudger couldn't hear them however, not with his wheels pounding the rails and the sounds of the coaches rolling along on the tracks could be heard.

"There must be some way we can warn Smudger," said Rusty's Driver.

"What about my loud booming horn?" Rusty suggested, "it might be loud enough to warn Smudger."

"It's a worth a try," said his Driver, "but we better blow extra loud today."

The Driver jumped back into the cab, just as Smudger's smoke came into view. Rusty took in a deep breath, then he blow the loudest horn ever to be heard on the entire Island of Sodor. Rusty was sure everyone could hear him now, and hopefully that included Smudger.

Lucky for him, Smudger did hear the horn, "something must be wrong if Rusty is tooting his horn," he said to his Driver.

"I think you're right," his Driver said as he looked out, "it's the bridge!"

Smudger's Driver slammed on the brakes hard, his wheels skidded along on the rails until he finally came to a stop, just before the bridge. It was lucky for Smudger that he stopped, cause the bridge finally collapsed and disappeared into the water.

"Thank you Rusty," Smudger called, "had it not been for you, I would've ended up in the drink."

The passengers came out and thanked Rusty and his Driver for warning them. And for the first time that day, Rusty didn't feel like hiding, he actually felt proud of his loud horn.

When Rusty was finally called back into the workshops in a couple of weeks, he was almost sad to see the new horn go.

"It might've been loud, but it certainly proved to a good horn," he told the workmen.

One of the workmen looked at the horn and chuckled quietly, "well Rusty, I think I now know why you had one of the loudest sounding horns on Sodor, you were actually given a main line diesel's horn."

"A main line diesel's horn?" he and his Driver asked together.

"Yes," said the workmen, "and I was wondering where that horn went."

"So that's why my horn was extra loud," Rusty chuckled, now seeing the funny side to the most recent events. Once his two-toned horn was finally back in it's proper place, Rusty rumbled off back to the sheds.

When he returned, he greeted everyone with a friendly 'toot-toot' with his two-toned horn, then that night, he told the little engines why his spare horn was loud.

"That explains alot," said Sir Handel, "I may not be a diesel, but even I know that narrow gauge diesels don't have loud horns like that."

"I'm actually sorry to see that horn go away," said Smugder, "it certainly came in handy in saving me."

"Yes, it was a good horn," Rusty happily agreed, "but I'm glad to have my old two-toned horn back again. It makes me feel like myself again."

"I know how you feel," Sakura smiled, "my little whistle makes me feel like myself, without it, I wouldn't be who I am."

"Still," Rusty continued, "I wonder who was suppose to get the spare horn."

The little engines didn't have long to wait, as they saw it was Diesel. He was passing with some empty coal trucks, and he didn't look happy.

"This horn is going to give me a headache," he groaned.

"Can't be helped," said his Driver, "it was the only horn in the shops, besides, if you hadn't blown your horn so much, then we wouldn't have need this spare horn."

Diesel groaned quietly, while the little engines all chuckled quietly to themselves. Rusty only smiled, he just felt happy to be reunited with his good old two-toned horn again.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by the many reports about a little narrow gauge diesel that is similar to Rusty having a loud diesel horn that belonged to a main line diesel.


	34. Koyuki Loses Her Way

_**Koyuki Loses Her Way**_

Summertime usually meant lots of work on both the branch lines and the main lines, which also meant lots of shunting in the yards. Charlie did his best, but he often required help from Duck, Oliver or Rosie whenever they were in the yards. However, those three engines were often needed on their own branch lines, so Charlie often had to work alone.

The Fat Controller could see that Charlie was tired and decided to bring in some help. He telephoned an old friend of his.

"Can you send her right away? You can? Oh that is wonderful, thank you so much. I'm sure the engines will be quite pleased to have some help in the yards. Yes, we will do our best to look after her. Okay then, take care my friend, bye."

A few days later, the engines of Tidmouth sheds were getting ready for the day's work, when they heard the sounds of a tank engine's whistle.

Gordon gasped when he heard the whistle, "I know that whistle."

"So do I," James smiled, "she's returned!"

"Who's returned?" Niki asked.

The engines didn't answer her, they were looking ahead to see puffs of smoke coming towards them, then they heard the sounds of pistons pumping. Within a minute, they could see who it was.

Gordon and James blew their whistles in excitement, and so did the engine as she rolled onto the turntable. The engine was painted in light green with dark green outlines, she had a tall funnel, and a curved cab, it was Koyuki.

"Hello my friends," she smiled, "I haven't seen you in ages, I missed you all."

"And we missed you too, Koyuki," said James kindly.

Both Gordon and James liked Koyuki alot, for it was her that helped when James was attacked by the flocking birds, and when one of Gordon's 'tires' came off his wheels. So it came as no surprise that both engines were more than pleased to see Koyuki.

"I see that alot has changed since I was last here."

"Indeed," said Gordon, as he looked over to Niki.

"Hello there," she said kindly, "Niki's name is Niki, Niki speaks in third person, just to let you know."

"I understand, I'm very pleased to meet you Niki, I'm Koyuki."

"So what brings you back to Sodor?" James asked.

Before Koyuki could answer, the engine's heard Charlie puff into the yards with a long line of tar wagons. He was red cheeked and panting heavily, he groaned loudly as he puffed away.

"Does that answer your question?" Koyuki asked.

"It sure does," said James, "Charlie is looking more wiped out than ever. I guess with all the summer traffic that's coming in, he's working his buffers off."

"That's what the Fat Controller was telling my manager, which is why he asked if I could come back to help."

"Niki thinks that's a good idea," said Niki, "Niki thinks Charlie will be happy to hear that he's going to get some help at last."

"Speaking of which," continued Koyuki, "I better over to the big station, I'll see you all later."

After being turned around on the turntable, Koyuki puffed off to the big station.

Niki was indeed quite right, Charlie was pleased to have some extra help, especially since it was coming from Koyuki. The two of them worked like a team, until all the coaches and trucks in their proper places.

"Thank goodness you've come back," Charlie smiled, "this yard would still be a mess without you here."

"Well, I'm always glad to help," Koyuki smiled back.

At that moment, the stationmaster came over to speak to the two engines.

"I need one of you to take a goods train to the Sodor Steamworks, it's full of new parts that they require for future use in engines."

"Can I take take the train?" Koyuki asked.

"Sure you can," said the stationmaster, then he told Koyuki and her crew of where to find the trucks. Just as she was puffing over to her train, she winked at Charlie, she didn't need to say anything, Charlie knew just what she was saying.

The trucks were quite pleased to be pulled by Koyuki, they all passed the word to not bump or push her.

"Here we go dears," Koyuki called sweetly.

With a blow of her whistle, and a gentle start, Koyuki set out for the open mainline.

Along the route to the Sodor steamworks is a signalbox. This signalbox controls all the signals and points at the junction, the signalman there knows which levers to pull and knows just when a train is coming.

Today, the signalman was giving a trainee a few tips on how to operate the levers.

"Now, do you understand what you have to do?" asked the signalman.

"Yes, I understand," said the trainee.

"Good, well I'm going to give you the chance to prove yourself, cause there's a special train that's heading off to the Sodor Steamworks coming through soon."

"I won't let you down," smiled the trainee.

"I know you won't," smiled the signalman, "now if you don't mind, I'm going to get something to eat."

The signalman left the signalbox feeling like everything was going like clockwork. I'm sorry to say that a problem had already come up, the trainee had forgotten which lever was for the steamworks.

"Oh," he groaned, "which one is it?"

He then looked out the window to see puffs of smoke coming to the junction. The trainee decided to just take a chance and pulled a lever, "I think that's the one for the Sodor steamworks."

He then changed the signal to green, just as Koyuki came into view.

"Thank you!" she called and puffed on her way.

Little did anyone know that the trainee had set the points to a different line, and now Koyuki was taking her train to a different location.

The little light green engine was due to find out soon enough, as she came to a spooky area. Mist surronded one of the buildings, trucks were filled to the top with broken pieces of machinery, and two diesels were standing outside of a lonely shed.

"Excuse me," Koyuki called nervously, "can you tell me where I am?"

The two diesels looked at each other and snickered to themselves and laughed.

"You don't know where you are?" asked one, which was 'Arry.

"You're in the Sodor scrapyards," chuckled Bert.

"The scrapyards?" Koyuki gasped, "I didn't want to come here, I was suppose to go to the Sodor steamworks."

Just then, they heard another diesel horn, it was BoCo, he was coming in with some trucks on scrap metal from Edward's Branch line. He looked over to the diesels with an angry look, "back away from my friend!" he snapped.

The diesels did just that as they rumbled back to their work.

Koyuki and her crew then explained to BoCo's crew of where they were suppose to go.

"Just go back to the junction," called BoCo's Driver, "then ask the signalman to change the points, then you'll be on your way to the steamworks."

Koyuki and her crew thanked BoCo and his Driver, then they set off back to the junction. When they arrived, the trainee apologized for the incident, and set the right points for the steamworks.

She soon arrived, but five minutes late.

"I'm sorry that we're late with the special load," she said to Victor, and she explained about the trainee.

"Oh well," Victor smiled kindly, "it can happen from time to time, what matters is that you got the special load here."

Koyuki was happy to hear that, but now she was worried of what the other engines would say if they found out.

She didn't need to worry one bit, the other engines never once teased her.

"It can happen to the best of us," Gordon said kindly, "I remember when that happened when I was pulling the express and went onto the loop line."

"I guess so," Koyuki sighed.

"I only hope that signalman doesn't leave that trainee alone," said James, "at least not until he knows which lever to pull."

Koyuki heartily agreed.

**Author's Note:**

The engine losing their way part of the story was based on a real life event where a new signalman was left alone in the signalbox and forgot which lever to pull. As a result, the engine was sent down the wrong line, then after it returned to the junction and was finally sent out on it's way, the train was a few minutes late. Date and location is unknown.


	35. Henry's Megatrain

_**Henry's Megatrain**_

It wasn't just the yards at Knapford that were busy with the extra workload, the coaling plant was also busy. It was one of the major suppliers of coal for many of the railroads in england and on rare occasions, for steam railroads in America.

This year, there was a huge demand of coal that needed to be filled, one of which was for a steam hertiage line just past the Other Railway. They required coal for the line the very next day. Neville, Donald and Douglas did the best they could do, but even they couldn't complete the work alone.

When the Fat Controller was told of this, he went to the sheds.

"I need one of you engines to help with the workload at the coaling plant."

"Can I help with the job, sir?" Koyuki asked kindly.

"Thank you Koyuki, but I still require you to work in the yards with Charlie, besides the job requires an engine who can take long trains of coal trucks."

"You would think some engines would jump at the chance to help out," Henry whispered to James, "I mean, it's only coal trucks after all."

"Is that so?" James asked, "Sir! Henry says he would like to help out!"

"What? I said no such..."

"Thank you very much Henry," the Fat Controller smiled, "now remember, you have to get all those coal trucks to the docks before sunset today, Murdoch and Hank will meet you there."

"Yes sir," sighed Henry unhappily. As he puffed away, he shot James an angry look.

"It's like you said," James chuckled, "it's only coal trucks after all, I'm sure you can handle it."

When Henry arrived, he could see Donald, Douglas and Neville working hard in shunting the trucks into place.

"Thank goodness you've come to help," Neville called happily, "we could use all the help we can get."

"No problem," Henry groaned.

Donald then puffed up with the first line of trucks, "here ye are Henry, make sure ye dinna bump the trucks on yer way to yonder dockyards, the trucks dinna like bein' filled with coal, so they might hold back."

Once Donald was switched over to another line, Henry was coupled up to his line of thirteen coal trucks and puffed slowly away to the dockyards.

Henry was careful all day long, he puffed back and fourth from the coaling plant and arrived at the docks with time to spare.

"You're doing quite well buddy," Hank smiled to Henry after his third trip.

"I have to agree," smiled Murdoch, "and Gordon once said you weren't as strong as he was."

"He was wrong indeed," said Hank, "you're probably even stronger than he is."

Henry didn't let that go to his head, he didn't even say 'thank-you' to Hank and Murdoch, he just puffed off, light engine, back to the coaling plant.

His fourth trip was smooth running, and with no trouble from the trucks, but Henry was due to find out that trouble was coming with his fifth load. When he returned to the coaling plant, he could see two long lines of coal trucks waiting for him.

"There's too many trucks," he said out loud.

"I thought Neville was to take the other coal train," said Henry's Driver.

The coaling plant manager came over to speak to Henry and his crew, "Neville's broken down and was taken to the Sodor steamworks by BoCo a few minutes ago. Can you take his train for him?"

Henry was horrified, "two trains in one?"

The Driver sighed unhappily, "I know, it's going to be a megatrain for us, but we'll have to take it. You once pulled twenty-three loaded trucks after Diesel crashed off the dockside, and have you forgotten when you took over forty empty trucks."

"Do you really think I can pull those trains?"

"You just might," said the fireman, "hopefully if the trucks don't act up on us."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," said the Driver, "this order needs to be filled before sunset today, but it's all up to you Henry."

Henry thought about it for a minute, he knew it was going to be a challenge, but he knew that he can't let the Fat Controller down.

"I'll do it," he said, fired up with determination.

Just then, Douglas pulled up with ten more loaded coal trucks, "sorry aboot this," he said, "but these trucks need tae get to yonder docks."

"What do you say now, Henry?" asked his Driver.

"Yes, let's do it! We've never let the Fat Controller down before, and we're not going to start now."

"That's the spirit!" smiled the Driver, "now let's get those trucks in order."

First, Henry had to shunt the first two trains together, while Douglas shunted a brake van on the back of the train, then Henry waited as Donald shunted the other trucks in front of him, along with a brake van.

"That Henry won't be able to take all of us," the trucks giggled to each other, "prepare to hold back!"

"Hold back! Hold back!" the trucks giggled in their silly way.

Henry knew it was going to be tough, but he wasn't worried. His wheels gripped the rails nicely and he had plenty of sand in his sanding pipe. The guards blew their whistles, then with a powerful blast of his whistle, Henry stormed out of the coaling plant with the trucks screeching and groaning.

"Hold back, hold back, make him slow, make him slow!" they cried.

"No you don't!" panted Henry, "I will not be beaten by you lot!"

"Yes you will, yes you will!" they cried.

They continued to hold back, poor Henry was going red in the face, but the train never once stopped. The Driver did his best to keep his steam up, and his fireman did all he could to keep the fire going.

"I...will...make...it...I...will...make...it," Henry panted.

"That's it, well done old boy!" called his Driver.

It was still a long going trip, but at last, Henry could see the docks coming into view.

"I...have...done...it...I...have...done...it!" he cheered. His crew cheered loudly too, as they pulled up next to Murdoch and Hank with the last ounce of steam Henry had.

"Well done Henry!" cried the two mighty engines and their crews.

Henry had no breath to say anything, so he only winked at the two engines.

Salty soon arranged the coal trucks behind Murdoch and Hank, then the two engines puffed off with their important trains.

That evening, the Fat Controller came to Tidmouth sheds to speak with Henry.

"I heard about your megatrain today," he said, "and despite the trouble with those coal trucks, you were able to take them all to the docks. Thanks to you Henry, the order was filled out on time, I am very proud of you."

"All of us as well," Koyuki smiled, "well done Henry!"

"Even I have to admit that I would never be able to take a megatrain like that," said Gordon.

"Niki thinks that Henry is now one of the strongest engines on Sodor," said Niki.

"You truely are an enterprising engine Henry," said Oliver.

"What's an enterprising engine?" Billy asked.

"An enterprising engine is an engine who does something increible, like when Douglas saved me from the Other Railway, or Duck for stopping that runaway goods train."

"Okay, I understand now," then Billy added, "Well done Henry!"

All the engines there blew their whistles in agreement, except for James, who was looking away from Henry.

Henry chuckled quietly and whispered, "they were only coal trucks after all, I could handle them easily."

James sulked to himself, now he wishes that he hadn't teased Henry. Now he knew what the old saying meant when they said 'What goes around, comes around'.

And unknown to anyone, James thought to himself, "maybe I should give it a try, if Henry can do it, maybe I can do it too."

And needless to say, when James was given a chance to take a megatrain, he had to be rescued by Henry. I guess some engines can pull megatrains, and others can't, that shows him, doesn't it?


	36. Koyuki and the Runaway Hector

_**Koyuki and the Runaway Hector**_

Every engine on Sodor knows that you can't trust trucks, they can rude and awkward, and unless those engines know what they are doing and show respect to the trucks, then those engines are bound to get themselves into trouble. Some engines like Edward, Donald & Douglas are just a few examples of engines that can treat trucks with respect.

Koyuki was another example, as she was always quite kind to them, and despite her one near miss at the docks with Salty, she still treats the trucks with respect.

"I don't see why you should give them respect," said James, "if they don't show you respect, then they shouldn't get any back."

"You are partly right James," said Koyuki, "but you have it wrong, no offence. If you show trucks respect and not bump them, then you can stay out of trouble."

"But they can still cause trouble for some engines, even those that are experienced like Duck."

"They only did that because I took them away from their rest," called Duck from his engine berth.

"Koyuki is quite right," said Edward, "the best way to earn their respect is to show respect yourself."

"Of course," Duck continued, "There is one truck that isn't horrid, he'll always show you respect when you take him out."

"Who is this truck?" Koyuki asked.

"His name is Hector," James answered, "he's the big coal hopper that works at the coaling plant, he's quite a good friend to all of us. Me especially, if he hadn't help me, I would be stuck in the hills of Great Waterton till around springtime."

"I can't wait to meet Hector then," Koyuki smiled.

Lucky for Koyuki, she was allowed to go to the coaling plant the very next morning to collect some trucks for the yards. As she came up to the valley of coal trucks, she could see a big coal truck in the far back.

She felt a little nervous at his size, then she noticed Neville coming back to collect some trucks.

"Is that Hector?" Koyuki asked.

"Yes it is," Neville smiled, "don't worry Koyuki, he's friendly."

"I know, many of the other engines all told me the same thing last night."

Soon enough, Neville had moved some of the trucks away. Koyuki puffed over till she was nearly side by side with Hector. The big truck looked down to Koyuki and smiled.

"Hello there," he called, "my name is Hector, you must be Koyuki, right?"

"Yes, but how do you know me?"

"I've heard about from some of the other trucks and engines, they all say that you are a sweet engine."

Koyuki started to blush when she heard this, "oh well, thank you. Now, I have to take you and some of your friends to the big station."

"Say no more, we're all ready to go, right fellas?"

"We're ready!" they called.

Although the trucks were fond of Koyuki, they weren't so fond of Hector. Ever since Thomas gave him the rude bumping, he never once tried to bump engines, and this made them cross.

"We'll teach that traitor to never befriend engines," they whispered to each other, "but don't hurt Koyuki."

The trucks all passed the word down till they all knew the plan.

Soon enough, Koyuki had all the trucks loaded up and was puffing off to the big station.

"What a wonderful day, oh what a wonderful day this is going to be," Koyuki sang quietly.

When they finally reached the big station, the trucks were switched over to another train that bound for the end of the line. They decided to pass on their plan to teach Hector a lesson to the other trucks, who agreed to try it.

"We'll wait till Gordon's hill," they whispered.

"He'll get the scare of a lifetime before you know it," the coal trucks giggled.

Of course, nobody but the trucks heard this devious plan, surprising enough, Hector heard nothing of their plan, as he was having a friendly chat with Koyuki.

Murdoch soon arrived and was coupled up to the trucks. Once ready, his Driver opened the regulator and Murdoch puffed off towards the open main line.

They were soon passing Edward's station, the trucks all whispered to each other to prepare for the hill. Once Murdoch started the climb to the top of the hill, the trucks tugged hard at the couplings, then with a loud 'snap!', the trucks started to roll back down the hill.

"What's going on?" Hector cried.

"It's called 'paying the traitor out'!" cried the stupid trucks, "and you're that traitor, we're going to give you a lesson you won't forget!"

"Oh no you won't!" Hector cried.

He slammed on his brakes, but despite his size, the trucks were still able to push him down the hill at increasing speeds. Even the guard in his van wasn't able to slow the train down.

"Help! Help!" the guard cried.

Hector however didn't panic, he stayed focused on trying to stop the runaway, with little success.

At the big station, Charlie and Koyuki were told to stay clear of platform 5.

"Whatever for?" Charlie asked.

Before anyone could answer, the answer came dashing past, it was Hector and the trucks. Brakes were screeching, but the train wasn't slowing down.

"They'll crash if they're not stopped!" cried Charlie's Driver.

"They will be stopped," cried Koyuki.

Before Charlie and his Driver could ask what she meant, Koyuki puffed over to platform 5 and started puffing backwards, light engine, after the runaway trucks.

"Do you think we can catch them?" her Driver asked.

"I'm sure that we will," she cried, "we have to help that poor guard and Hector!"

Koyuki's wheels pounded the rails, her smoke turned dark grey, and her cheeks were going red, but she never once slowed down.

At long last, Koyuki was finally able to check up to the runaway trucks. By now, they were finally wearing out, thanks to Hector and the guard's brakes holding them back.

She buffered up to the trucks and her fireman coupled her up, as carefully as he could. Her Driver then slammed on her brakes, and with her strength, the guard's brakes full on, and Hector using his strength, the train came to a smooth stop.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"We're fine," Hector panted, trying to catch his breath, "it's a good thing I didn't panic when they started pushing aganist me."

"Yes indeed," agreed the guard, "if you had paniced, we would still be flying along the tracks, then who knows what would've happened next."

"Oh, I don't think we would have much to worry about," Hector smiled, "especially with Koyuki chasing after us, I'm sure she would've stopped us, even if I didn't hold back aganist the rest of the trucks."

"You're probably right," agreed the guard.

"Now, why don't we get you back to Murdoch, I'm sure he's probably worried about you lot."

So once Koyuki had plenty of steam, and her fireman had phoned down the line, they set off to catch up with Murdoch.

They didn't have far to go, for when they reached Wellsworth station, they found Murdoch and the rest of his train waiting there.

"I'm glad to see that no accident had occured this time," he said.

"Thanks to Hector's bravery," said the guard, "and Koyuki coming after us, there was nothing to worry about."

"Just think old girl," called her Driver, "you once had a near miss with trucks before, and now you and Hector were able to stop a near miss from occuring."

"Maybe so, but I think that most of the credit goes to Hector, for it was him who stopped the trucks."

Hector smiled, then he looked back to the rest of the trucks with an angry look, "now, what were you little buggers trying to teach me?"

"Nothing," they said, "don't bump us Hector."

"You're lucky that I'm not in the mood to do so, cause if I were, I'd bump you fools so hard that you would all need to go the works to be repaired. You could've caused a serious accident, so please don't do it again!"

"We won't!" they cried.

Murdoch thanked Koyuki and her crew for bringing the train back, then he headed off on his way. As the tail end of the train passed, Hector looked over to Koyuki, and winked at her.

Koyuki smiled happily, "Hector is a wonderful truck," she smiled to herself, "I'm happy that I got to meet him."

And with the line clear, Koyuki puffed off, light engine, back to the yards of Knapford.


	37. Koyuki Stands Her Ground

_**Koyuki Stands Her Ground**_

Workloads started to go down at the big station, which meant that Koyuki's second visit to Sodor would soon be coming to an end. Even so, Koyuki was enjoying the time she was spending with her friends.

One morning, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak with Koyuki, "I would you to go with Diesel to Misty Island, you two are collect some trucks full of Jobi Wood and bring them back to the big station. Henry will then take the wood to the Duke and Duchess' summer house to make a patio."

"I'm on my way sir," Koyuki smiled.

Once she had a good head of steam, she puffed off for the Misty Island tunnel.

Before long, Koyuki had arrived, light engine, on Misty Island. She soon crossed the new bridge, in the same spot where the shake-shake bridge once stood, and found herself at the log loading station.

No sooner had she arrived, then she saw Diesel.

"Oh no," he groaned, "not another steamer, why can't the Fat Controller send diesels."

"I don't have very much work to do at this time," Koyuki answered, "that's why he send us here. You must be Diesel, am I right?"

"Correct, I am Diesel, and make no mistake that I will not work with you."

"Are you causing trouble?" called a voice, it was Ferdinand, the climax logging loco, "I've already given you a friendly warning when you came here, stop being rude to us or our friends, or else."

"Pah!" Diesel growled and rumbled away.

"Thanks for helping," said Koyuki kindly.

"Not a problem. You must be Koyuki."

"I am."

"In that case, follow me, we need to load up these flatbeds for your trip back to Sodor."

So Koyuki and her crew followed Ferdinand down the tracks till they were coupled up to the flatbeds. Then they puffed over to 'Hee-Haw', a log loader. The old machine was coughing and spluttering when they arrived.

"He sounds sick," said Koyuki.

"Nah," said Ferdinand, "it's just his way of saying that he doesn't want to work." Ferdinand then spoke in a calm but stern way, "listen up Hee-Haw, we don't have time for all this foolishness, we need these flatbeds loaded up."

Hee-Haw stopped coughing at that moment and went straight to work. He quickly loaded Ferdinand's trucks, then he loaded up Koyuki's flatbeds, until it was down to one more. Hee-Haw started his antics again and refused to lift anymore logs.

"Please don't stop," Koyuki groaned, "I can't be late."

Hee-Haw didn't bother to continue with his work, he just continued to splutter, shake and cough. Until Bash and Dash arrived and saw all.

"Hee-Haw," called Dash, "enough..."

"Of this, load up her flatbed!" said Bash.

"Now!" concluded Dash.

Hee-Haw listened this time, he loaded up the last of the last of the logs, then he stopped working.

"I wish I knew how you three can handle these machines," said Koyuki.

"It just takes years for these machines to learn that they are not in charge," said Bash's Driver.

"Now, why don't we..." Bash began.

"Go find Ferdinand and that Diesel?" suggested Dash.

And so, the three engines puffed off to find Ferdinand.

They were in for a shock, for when they arrived at the site, there were logs on the tracks in front of Ferdinand and on the bridge. Diesel was also on the bridge, snickering to himself, and Old Wheesy was spluttering and spinning like crazy.

"What is the..." Bash began.

"Meaning of this?" Dash asked.

"I'm the one who's going to deliver this Jobi Wood," said Diesel, "and let you silly steamers take the blame for this mess-up. Old Wheesy will make sure that you don't get any further."

"Keep back!" shouted Ferdinand, "he means it, Old Wheesy nearly got me before."

"Diesel," called Koyuki, "we can't waste our time fighting over this foolishness, we're suppose to work together in bringing the logs back to Sodor."

"Forget it," Diesel snarled, "I never liked working with steam engines anyways."

"Diesel, we have to work together."

"Forget it!" Diesel repeated himself, "now uncouple yourself from those trucks and leave them for me, a real engine should be taking important loads like this."

"I will not," said Koyuki firmly.

"You will so!" Diesel rattled forward, only to get bashed by the logs Old Wheesy dropped, "stop it, or I'll pull you towards the creek!"

Old Wheesy stopped right then and there, Diesel rattled up to the trucks and after coupled up, he tried to pull them away.

"Steamers are useless," he called, "they should be in a scrap yard to rust forever."

"No," Koyuki cried, "we steam engines are just as useful as you. Now, I'm giving you one warning, let go of my trucks, or I'll have to use brute force to make you see that your acts today are childish."

Diesel refused to stop, and so it started. Diesel pulled one way, while Koyuki pulled another way. The trucks were strecthed in between the two engines, the three logging locos stood back, and watched in amazement.

"You're only a girl, you're not..."

"I may be a girl," panted Koyuki, "but I'm just as useful as any other engine."

"We'll see," Diesel chuckled.

The intense struggle between Koyuki and Diesel didn't stop, that was until everyone heard a spluttering sound, it was coming from Diesel. He had worn out his engine and now he had broken down.

"Looks like Koyuki," called Bash.

"Beat you in your crazy game," called Dash.

"That's right," Ferdinand agreed in his usual way.

Soon enough, Koyuki was coupled to her trucks, while Ferdinand, Bash and Dash were at the back.

"Don't leave me here!" cried Diesel, who was sitting on a siding next to Hee-Haw, "I don't want to be left out here!"

"Don't worry Diesel," said Bash, "we'll..."

"Come back for you sometime..." Dash continued.

"Tonight or tomorrow," chuckled Bash.

"That's right," said Dash and Ferdinand in unison.

"Hopefully this will teach a lesson to not act so childish all the time," called Koyuki, "now don't you worry, I'll tell the Fat Controller that you're here."

With that, the four engines puffed off for the tunnel for Sodor.

The wood was soon delivered to the Duke and Duchess' summer house in record timing, which made the Duke and Duchess very happy. Neville was sent to Misty Island to collect Diesel and tow him to the Diesel works.

While he was there, the Fat Controller spoke to him about his stupid actions. What he said to Diesel didn't sound very polite at all.

A few days later, Koyuki was all set to go back home again.

"We're going to miss you Koyuki," the engines, who could make it to the docks, called, "have a safe journey home!"

"I will," she called, "and don't worry, I'll come back someday."

Once her fire was bought out, Cranky lifted Koyuki off the ground and onto the boat, but not before the engines all blew their whistles and airhorns in chrous. Koyuki smiled, and shedded a few happy tears, "thank you my friends!" she called, "good-bye!"

"Good-bye Koyuki!" they all cried.

Donald and Douglas made them all sing the song 'Auld Lang Syne', then the whistling and air horns honking went on again until the boat was out of sight.

And now every engine wonders of when the sweet and loveable Koyuki will return, but that will have to wait.

"Take care my friend," Gordon whispered, and blew a loud blow of his whistle.

As for Diesel, well, he was soon repaired and sent off to work at the Sodor Steamworks, for the second time. I'm sure now he'll think twice before trying something so stupid again, if he knows what's good for him.


	38. Thomas Steams Into Action

_**Thomas Steams into Action**_

It was a wet rainy morning at the junction, Thomas the Tank Engine was waiting impatiently for James to arrive with the stopping passenger train. James however was late, which of course made Thomas cross.

"Bother those main line engines," he grumbled to the coaches, "they're always going too slowly. I wish they would hurry up."

"So do we," the coaches agreed.

At last, James arrived. His face was as red as his paintwork, and his smoke was a dark shade of grey.

"Sorry I'm late Thomas," James called, "I was held up with extra passengers on the platform, I had to go to the coach yard to collect more coaches, then with the rain coming down, the journey was proven to be a difficult one. Even with Niki working in the yards with us, we're still overworked."

"You always say that," Thomas grumbled, "it's just your excuse to get away from work."

"I'm not making an excuse," snapped James, "I'm telling you the truth!"

At that moment, the guard's whistle blew, Thomas' Driver opened the regulator and Thomas was ready to go, "if you stop complaining all the time, maybe then you'll see that the workload isn't that much of a problem."

And he puffed away, leaving James to fume at his spot.

The next morning, Thomas' attitude had changed for the better, as he waited for his crew to get him fired up. Toby's crew were also in the sheds that morning, the Driver was reading the local newspaper.

"This is bad," he was saying, "they're saying a criminal has escaped from jail. He was also last seen near Ffraquhar station."

"What was he sent to jail for?" asked Thomas' Driver.

"Kidnapping and robbery. He had been on the run for four years, then he was finally caught by the Sodor Police Department. He actually spent three years behind bars, till two nights ago."

"In that case," said Toby, "we better keep an eye out for this person."

"It shouldn't be too hard," added Toby's Driver, "Considering that this person is always seen doing something wrong."

"What should we do if we do see him?" Percy asked.

"We'll call the police and inform them of where this person is," answered Percy's Driver, "there's no need to do any heroics, especially if this person is in a crowd."

The engines and their crews all promised to keep a look out for this dangerous man.

After he had collected Annie and Clarabel, Thomas puffed off for the first station on his line.

"I sure hope that those main line engines won't be late at the junction today," he thought to himself, "I don't want to be late."

The journey proved to be a good one, Henry was the engine at the junction today, and was early with his stopping passenger train. All was going well, until Thomas and his train came up to the last station of the line.

There were lots of people on the platform, they all looked to one end of the platform in a worried way.

"I wonder what's going on there," Thomas said to his Driver.

His Driver looked out of the cab and saw what was going on, "do you remember that man we were talking about this morning?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I think we just found him, and he's up to his old tricks again."

As Thomas drew nearer to the platform, he could see that his Driver was right. There was the man everyone was talking about this morning, and there was a woman standing in front of him, looking terrified. The man had one arm wrapped around her, and he something long, black and metal pointing at her back.

"Stay back!" the man shouted, "or else!"

"Help me!" cried the woman.

But nobody could, not even the police officer that was in the crowd. Everyone was looking worried for her, and wondered how they could help her.

"There must be something we can do," said Thomas.

"I wish there was something we could do," agreed the Driver, "but if we try to help, then the criminal might hurt her."

"What's worse," said the fireman, "with this little hold up, this means that the other engines will probably run into us."

The stationmaster was walking slowly towards the cab, where he spoke to the crew, "I've informed every station along the line," he said, "they promised to stop all trains from departing until..." He stopped talking as he looked back to the dangerous man, "this might go on for a long while."

Thomas didn't like the idea that a criminal was going to hold up his timetable, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it.

As the stationmaster had said, all the other trains were stopped at the other stations. Daisy was stuck at the junction, Percy was left in the yards, Toby and Emily were left at the first station, and Rosie was still in the sheds.

"Sorry about this Rosie," said her Driver, "but there's a situation going on at the last station, and we've been told to stay here until the matter has been sorted out."

"I understand," then she asked, "isn't that where Thomas is?"

"Yes indeed, and I hate to think about what the dangerous man could do with a tank engine that's in steam. He might kidnap him too."

Now Rosie was worried.

The man kept all the rest of the passengers back, he shouted lots of demands, but the police officer wouldn't give him what he wanted.

"Just give me a car!" the criminal shouted, "give me yours, and make sure you tell your buddies to stay back!"

"Help me," cried the woman again.

"I already told you to be quiet, now shut up!"

By now, Thomas was getting cross, for one: he didn't like the idea that his branch line was being held by one man, and two: he didn't like the way this man was talking to the woman.

"I guess we'll have to go," sighed the Driver, "or he'll ask for us next."

Suddenly, Thomas had an idea. He asked his fireman to come out, so he could whisper his plan to him.

"Why not build my steam preasure up, then I could blow off steam to act like a smokescreen. It could give that lady a chance to escape, and the officer a chance to stop the criminal."

"It could work," said the fireman.

He walked back to the cab and told the plan to the Driver, who agreed to give it a try, "I'll block his view, while you do what you can to build up Thomas' steam preasure."

And that's just what they did, Thomas' fireman worked hard to build up the steam preasure while the Driver blocked his view from the criminal. In about three minutes, all was ready.

"Okay Thomas," said his fireman, "are you ready?"

"Ready," Thomas groaned, he was feeling a little sick.

"Alright then, we'll blow the steam at the right moment."

The criminal moved closer and closer to Thomas, and as soon as he was close to his sidetanks, "now!" said the fireman, he turned the handle, and steam arose all around them.

The woman was finally able to sneak away, while the police officer was able to step in - when the steam finally cleared away, everyone could see the criminal in handcuffs, thanks to the policeman. He asked if the woman was okay, she replied that she was, "thanks to Thomas," she smiled.

Later that night when Thomas was being backed into his shed, he noticed the Fat Controller walking over towards him.

"Thomas, I heard about what you did," he said, "normally I would never allow one of my engines to blow that much steam off in the station, but after hearing about how you helped the police, I've decided to just let you off with a warning."

"Thank you sir."

"That was a very brave thing that you did, maybe I should start calling you 'Thomas the Police Engine' for now on."

Thomas just chuckled, "at least you live up to your name, Sir Thomas," called Percy.

"You should feel proud of what you did," added Emily, "thanks to you, a dangerous criminal is being sent back to jail, and that woman is safe."

"I wonder who she was," Percy added.

Thomas was due to find next day, as he puffed past the Sodor Library, there was a banner at the enterance which read 'come visit Thomas' reading corner.'

"Well I'll be," smiled the Driver, "that lady that we helped yesterday was the head librarian."

"And by the looks of things," said the fireman," she's thanking Thomas by naming a part of the library for him."

The young woman was standing outside the library, when she saw Thomas passing, she waved happily to him. Thomas whistled happily to her before he disappeared off down the tracks.


	39. Discovering Morgan

_**Discovering Morgan**_

Stanley the Silver Tank Engine and Flora the Steam Tram work together around Great Waterton. They sometimes take trains from the town to other locations of Sodor, plus they work together when it comes to shunting as well. Although they do work hard, they sometimes needs help from some of the other engines.

One day, Thomas the Tank Engine was helping them with some shunting duties, before he was to head off back to the branch line.

"Thanks for helping us Thomas," said Stanley.

"It's my pleasure," Thomas smiled, "at least I know you don't complain like those main line engines do."

"Yes I have heard about the complaining they are doing," then he asked, "could you push those empty trucks over to Morgan's Mine? James will be coming by later to collect them."

Thomas agreed to do so, and once his fireman had coupled him up, Thomas puffed off towards Morgan's Mine.

"I wonder why they called that old mine, Morgan's Mine," he said to his crew.

"According to the stories," said his Driver, "an engine named Morgan got lost inside that mine and was never seen or heard from again. From what we do know, he was taking a train into the mine, and by the next day, only his crew came out. At least, I think that's how the story goes."

"Poor engine," sighed Thomas, then he had a thought, "maybe he's still in that mine."

"Maybe," said the fireman, "or maybe Morgan is just a story that was made up to explain the mine's name."

Thomas wasn't completely sure about this.

Soon enough, Thomas and his long line of trucks reached the points leading to the mine. Thomas was suppose to go to the sidings, but the points weren't working properly again, and as a result of it all, Thomas was switched onto the line inside Morgan's Mine.

"Cinders and Ashes!" he cried.

His Driver and fireman went to apply the brakes, but the trucks, despite being empty, were pulling him inside the mine shaft. Thomas rolled on down inside Morgan's mine, he tried to stop his train, but his brakes were proving to be useless.

"Stop, please, stop!" he cried.

"We're trying, we're trying!" cried his Driver and fireman.

Thomas rattled on further and further inside, and soon came up to the faulty junction. Thomas gulped, he remembered the last time he was inside Morgan's Mine, he went to the left during his last visit and went on a wet ride. Luckily this time, the trucks towed Thomas to the right track.

The Driver and fireman were bounced about inside the cab, they were trying hard to stop their little blue engine.

"This is too wild for me!" groaned Thomas, "I want to stop, I want to stop!"

Thomas' wish was about to be answered, as his train hit something hard and stopped with a tremendous jerk. The force of the blow knocked the fireman out of the cab.

"Are you alright?" the Driver asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," he called.

Then they heard a voice, "well that's one way to stop."

Thomas looked in front of the line of trucks, but he couldn't see anyone. All he could see was a blue tarpualin.

"I'm underneath this thing," the voice called again.

Thomas' Driver and fireman walked over to where the tarpualin was, then bit by bit, they removed it and revealed - a medium sized tender engine. This one looked similar to James, except he was painted in black and had a bigger boiler than James.

"Ah, that's much better, thank you very much."

"You're welcome," said Thomas' Driver kindly.

When Thomas saw the engine, he couldn't help but gasp, "tell me, is your name - Morgan?"

"Yes indeed," the engine chuckled, "I see they did name the mine after me. I always wanted them to do that, but I never wanted to end up like this, to be a lost engine. Oh but I do go on, tell me, what's your name."

"I'm Thomas the Tank Engine."

"Well it's nice to meet you Thomas."

"Morgan, how long have you been lost in this mine?"

"Well, that's quite a long story..."

"Don't worry about it," said Thomas' fireman, "We're not going anywhere for a while, you can tell us."

"Very well," and Morgan began to tell his story, "it all started a long time ago when Great Waterton was a new town. It was a peaceful place to work at. I was one of the first engines here, and of course there were engines like Henry, Edward, Gordon, and Hiro. Tell me, how is the old engine doing?"

"He's doing quite well," Thomas smiled, "he's still in operation to this day."

"That's good," Morgan sighed, then he continued to tell his story, "one of my main jobs was to shunt around the mine shafts. Workers went in everyday to blast new tunnels, and I was to take trucks in and out of here. It was great work at the time, and the only job I was given, I didn't mind it, mind you though, it was dangerous work."

"I can imagine it is," Thomas muttered.

"All was going well, until one day when we were working in one of the lower levels, some foolish worker had been clearless and as a result, he made that one section cave in. We were quite lucky to get out of there, even with a few close calls. Then came trouble, as I ran out of water and stopped right at this stop."

" 'Not to worry Morgan', my Driver called, 'We'll go get help, stay right here'."

" 'You don't need to worry about me running away', I joked. So I waited, and waited, but nobody came down to get me. I was wondering if my crew and the workers were okay, but as time went on, I was due to find out that the mine had been closed down."

"How did you find out?" asked Thomas' fireman.

"I heard some workers closing up all the exits and enterances into this mine. Then I saw someone coming over towards me, I asked him if he had come to collect me, he only shook his head and said 'Great Waterton is closing down, I'm going to cover you up so you don't rust away to nothing'. That was the worst news I heard, I wanted to cry, but I didn't as the man covered me up. And here I stood for many years, unable to move, unable to whistle, and unable to work again. Then a few years ago, I got quite a bump by the truck that is in front of me."

"Full of bricks!" Thomas gasped, "that's the missing truck!"

"And then there was nothing," Morgan continued, "until now."

Morgan looked down sadly to his buffers.

When Thomas' crew had walked back into the cab, Thomas whispered something to them, then they went along the train, coupling all the trucks and Morgan together.

"Morgan, you will get your chance to run again, cause we're going to get you out of here!"

"Really? But are you sure anyone would want a rusted out engine like myself?"

Thomas chuckled quietly, "once you're repaired at our local steamworks, then I'm sure the Fat Controller will love to have you work alongside with his engines."

Morgan was so happy to hear that, that he almost cried tears of joy, "thank you Thomas, you've made an old engine very, very happy."

Soon enough, Thomas' Driver and fireman had the entire train ready, and even removed the blocks that surronded Morgan's wheels.

"Is there a way out here?" Thomas' Driver asked, "cause the way we came is a little dangerous."

"There is one way," said Morgan, "back down this track, there's a junction that lead to the outside, but I'm not enterily sure if it's blocked by fallen rocks."

"That's never stopped us before," called Thomas, "now hang on Morgan, we're getting out of here!"

And so, wheel turn by wheel turn, Thomas pushed with all his might. Morgan's wheels were rusty, which made things difficult, but at long last, Thomas and his long train began the journey out of the mine. At the points, Thomas' Driver set them to the right, which was the way out, according to Morgan.

"It's going to steep ride out of here," Morgan advised, "we'll be slipping and sliding down that mineshaft."

"I'll do my best to slow us down," called Thomas.

It was hard work for the little blue tank engine, but he managed it, just!

"Easy does it, easy does it," he panted.

Thanks to Thomas, they reached the bottom of the mine shaft and came to a closed exit. Thomas remembered something Duncan once did when he was in a mine, and decided to try it.

"Watch out Morgan, we're going to be using your tender to brake the barrier down!"

Morgan shut his eyes, Thomas' wheels picked up speed and before anyone knew it, the long train had crashed through the barrier and out into the open.

"Sunlight!" cried Morgan, "at long last!"

James was waiting at the Great Waterton platform, the Fat Controller was also there, "where is Thomas?" he asked Stanley, "it's not like him to be late."

"And he complains about us being late," James grumbled.

Before Stanley could say anything, there came some frantic whistling in the distance, and there came Thomas, his trucks and - Morgan!

"What is this?" James asked, "I'm suppose to take trucks, not an engine!"

"This is Morgan," Thomas panted, "he's been inside the mine for many years, we found him by accident," and Thomas explained about their trip into the mine, "I'm sorry sir," he said after a while.

But the Fat Controller wasn't cross, he was pleased, "I'm not cross with you Thomas, I'm actually quite pleased with your find. Morgan is just what we need on the main line traffic duties. Now, I would like you and Stanley to take him to the steamworks, I would like him to be in full operation as soon as possible."

"Yes sir," smiled the two tank engines in unison.

"Thank you sir," smiled Morgan, "I'll see to it that you'll never regret it."

And with that, after Stanley was coupled up, he and Thomas towed Morgan to the steamworks, while James took over the goods train. And for the first time in years, Morgan truely felt happy to be a free engine once more.


	40. Picking Up the Slack

_**Picking Up the Slack**_

It took almost a month, but at long last, Morgan was released from the steamworks. His coat of dark black paint gleamed brightly in the sunshine, smoke arose from his funnel and his fire was burning brightly.

"Thank you Victor," Morgan called, "you and your workmen have done a fantastic job with my restoration."

"You're very welcome Morgan," smiled Victor, "now remember to take it easy on yourself, the last thing the Fat Controller needs is for you to break down while pulling a train."

"I'll be as careful as I once was."

Just then they heard some loud metal crashing sounds coming inside the workshops, they could only guess what caused all that, "Kevin!"

"Sorry boss, I slipped and dropped it by accident," called Kevin from inside the shop.

"Oh dear," groaned Victor, "well I better back inside and check on Kevin, you better hurry on to the sheds, I hear the Fat Controller has got a job waiting for you."

Morgan soon arrived at Tidmouth sheds, Henry, Duck and Niki were there as well. They introduced themselves to Morgan, and Morgan did the same. After the introductions were done, the Fat Controller pulled up in his blue car.

"Good to see you're back Morgan," he said, "with you here, maybe we can start delivering the rest of the goods trains on time. There's quite a lot to do today."

He then turned to the three engines, "Duck, I need you to doublehead a train with Niki to the junction where Percy will be waiting. Henry, you to take the loaded trucks from the coaling plant and take them to the docks, and Morgan," he looked back over to the big tender engine, "I need you to take milk tankers to the diary and bring back loaded ones, I'll have more jobs for you when you return."

"Of course sir," said Morgan.

The engines were soon on their way, Duck and Niki took the goods train to the junction, Henry took the coal trucks and Morgan puffed along at a nice slow pace with the milk tankers.

"What's the matter with you?" asked one of the tankers, "can't you go any faster?"

"I could," said Morgan, "but I can't wear myself out by rushing, I have just come out of the steamworks you know."

"Have you now?" the trucks thought this would be a perfect chance to play their trucks. When they tried, they were due to find out that it was a big mistake to do so.

Morgan was much bigger than them, and as a result, he gave them one of the biggest bumpings they had ever recieved.

"Ease up boys," said the lead truck, "we can't play tricks on this engine. He'll break us to pieces if we do!"

And so, for the rest of the day, the trucks never once played a trick on Morgan. He collected the full tankers and set off for the yards at Knapford.

After that job, Morgan was given the job of collecting flatbeds of Jobi Wood from Misty Island for a train that Hank was to take to the Other Railway. Then Morgan was told to collect china clay trucks from Edward's Branch line and shunt them onto Henry's next goods train, then Morgan had to go to fueling depot to collect fuel wagons for the diesels, these were also to go to the Other Railway.

When Morgan arrived, he was feeling quite worn out.

"Superb work they did on your boiler," said his Driver happily, "you're running like a brand new engine."

Poor Morgan wished he was a new engine. He was about to go back to the sheds for a well earned rest, just as the stationmaster came out to see him.

"You are to collect steel iron from the smelters and bring it back here for Murdoch, you'll have to be quick as he's due to leave soon."

"I'm not sure if I can run that fast," said Morgan, sounding a little worried, "plus, I was told to take it easy with my..."

"You can't go easy right now," said the stationmaster firmly, "we need that steel iron now."

Morgan knew better than to argue with station staff, so he puffed sadly away from the station.

Morgan was soon coupled up to his trucks of steel iron, but he was worried.

"This is going to be a heavy load," he was saying to his crew, "and in order to make it back to the big station for Murdoch's train, we would need to go faster than we were before."

"So what's the problem?" his fireman asked.

"I do have a new boiler after all, I'm suppose to..."

"You'll be fine," his Driver insisted, "besides, you can rest once we get you back to the shed."

"I hope you're right," Morgan groaned.

Once coupled up to his train, Morgan puffed away from the smelters. 'Arry and Bert, the smelter diesels shouted teasing words to Morgan, but the black tender would not listen to a word they said.

As they began their journey back to the big station, Morgan and his crew spotted something up ahead of them, it was blocking their line. It was James the Red Engine, he had been hauling a long line of empty coal trucks for Henry to take later, but now he had stopped.

"Stupid trucks," he grumbled, "they're always causing trouble for us engines."

James' Driver walked up to Morgan's cab and spoke to his crew, "can you give us a push to the big station?" he asked, "we're late enough as it is."

"Of course we will," this time it came from Morgan, "we'll be more than glad to help."

"That's good," said James' Driver, "James' steam preasure is nearly up again, so we'll be able to help you soon."

Once James' Driver had climbed back into his engine's cab, Morgan came up behind the brake van. Then he began to push. He puffed and pushed, pushed and puffed, and slowly, wheel turn by wheel turn, James' and Morgan's trains began to move. It was slow going for a while, but that changed when Morgan began to pick up speed.

"Got to pick up the slack, got to pick up the slack," Morgan panted to himself.

Finally, James' steam preasure had risen and the two engines raced along the line to the big station.

They were just in time, as Murdoch was just about ready to leave. Morgan quickly shunted the steel iron trucks onto the back of the train, then he added the brake van.

Murdoch whistled a friendly 'Good-bye' as he raced off for the end of the line.

James also whistled a 'Thank-you' to Morgan, then he puffed off to shunt the trucks into place for Henry. Morgan huffed and panted slowly away to a siding, he was short of breath and felt like his wheels were going to fall off.

"That was splendid work you did there," called his Driver, "you are a wonderful engine to work with."

"I guess so," Morgan groaned quietly, "but if I wasn't so worried about my new boiler, we wouldn't have been late for Murdoch and his goods train."

"Maybe so," said a familar voice, Morgan knew who that was. It was the Fat Controller, he was standing close by, "I know you were almost late, but I heard that you made it on time, and you helped James get his train here. I am very proud of you."

"Are you sure sir?" Morgan asked quietly, "cause I feel like I have only let you down."

"Nonsence, you have done me proud today, as you have done so in the past."

Morgan felt quite honored by this, "now," continued the Fat Controller, "As a special treat, how would you like to take the stopping passenger train this afternoon."

"Oh sir," smiled Morgan, "I would love to take a passenger train."

"Very well then," smiled the Fat Controller, "Charlie will shunt your coaches for you."

"Oh no sir, begging your pardon, but I'll collect my own coaches for this trip."

The Fat Controller was amazed by what he just heard. For the many years he's been the controller of the railroad, he never once heard from any of his tender engines, except for Edward, say that they would collect their own coaches.

"Very well then Morgan," said the Fat Controller, sounding uncertain about what he heard, "you can collect your own coaches. Do you best."

"I will sir!" he cheered as he puffed away from the siding.

Morgan soon collected the coaches and puffed up to the platform. The passengers were confused at first as they thought it was James, but when they found out it was Morgan, they came to look at him, then hurried off to their coaches.

"Okay Morgan," said his Driver, "you can now have the run of your life."

"This will be great," he smiled, "I only wish Hiro could see me now."

Of course, Hiro could see him. Hiro was back on Sodor helping with summer traffic. He was standing near platform 5, he remained quiet at this time.

"I'll talk to him later," he thought happily to himself.

Morgan's guard blew the whistle, and Morgan departed nice and slowly out of the station.

Morgan had a grand time out, he stopped at all the right stations, he never overshot the platforms, and he was always on time.

Victor and Kevin were resting outside of the steamworks when they saw Morgan flash by with the passenger train. The smile told Victor all he needed to know.

"Another satisfied repair job," he said happily to Kevin.

"You have made him really happy, boss."

"Yes indeed. This is why I'm happy to be a works engine."

And as for Morgan the Black Engine, he was happy to be a really useful engine once more.

"It feels so good to be back," he smiled happily to himself.


	41. Morgan to the Rescue

_**Morgan to the Rescue**_

As time went on, Morgan proved to be a wonderful audition to the Fat Controller's Main Line team of engines. Coaches and trucks, he could handle them with ease, and quite like Edward, the Scottish Twins and Koyuki, Morgan would show the trucks respect and not bump them, unless he had no choice.

Although there was a small mix-up between James and Morgan at first because they looked identical, that was soon cleared up, which was good for both of them.

"You've done quite well Morgan," Duck said kindly, "it would've taken Oliver and me a few weeks to do what you can do."

"It's nothing really," Morgan smiled, "I did it for a long time before I was lost inside that mine."

"And I have to admit that you are really good with the passenger trains too," James added, "I don't even mind if you take over the passenger runs for a while. At least you can stay on the tracks, unlike certain engines I could mention."

Gordon grunted, he knew just what James was talking about.

"For the record James," Gordon grumbled, "I was switched off the main line to avoid running into Percy, as I remember correctly, he was trying to be like me."

"And who's fault would that be?" James chuckled.

Before Gordon could say anymore, the Fat Controller arrived in his blue car.

"I need two engines to pull a twelve coach passenger trains to the Other Railway tomorrow," he said, "and I think I know which engines to pick."

Gordon knew that he was going to be picked, but he wasn't sure about which engine was going to be helping.

"Gordon and Morgan," he said, "you two could manage the train splendidly."

"But sir," Gordon grumbled, "I could much better on my own."

"No Gordon," said the Fat Controller firmly, "it is my decision, and I have chosen the two of you."

"I think it's a good idea," said James, "plus it'll give Morgan a chance to see what the Other Railway is like."

"I couldn't agree with more James," the Fat Controller smiled, "now remember you two, you are both to take the passenger train first thing tomorrow, Niki will take over the express."

After the Fat Controller had gone off for home, the other engines all started talking to Morgan about the Other Railway, all except for Gordon. He only grunted quietly to himself.

The next morning, Gordon backed down on the express coaches, he was thinking that he was going to be in front, but he was in for a shock when he found out that Morgan was to be in front.

"This is an outrage!" snapped Gordon.

"Sorry Gordon," said his Driver, "but it's the Fat Controller's orders, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Besides," added his fireman, "I think it's a good idea to give Morgan a chance to see the line for himself, just in case he's ever given this job again in the future."

"Pah!" Gordon sniffed, "the only jobs that silly engine will get is goods work on Sodor."

Gordon was quickly hushed by his crew as Morgan came up to his place on the train. Lots of people came to admire the two engines, although at this time, Gordon wished they wouldn't.

At last, the passengers boarded the train, the guard blew his whistle, then the two engines began their journey to the Other Railway.

"I hope you can keep up with my speed," Gordon gruffed from behind, "I don't want to have to do all the work alone."

"Oh don't you worry Gordon," called Morgan, "I can keep up with you."

Morgan was quite right, he was able to keep up with Gordon's speed as the two thundered through the countryside.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry," puffed Gordon.

"We're coming along, we're coming along," called the coaches.

"Other Railway, here we come!" cried Morgan.

The journey was indeed a good one, the engines stopped at all the right stations, and they made sure to give the passenger a smooth and comfortable ride.

"Faster, faster, faster!" Gordon cried.

"Relax will you?" Morgan called, "back in the day, we never needed to rush threw our jobs. That always resulted in disasters, so I might suggest that you just relax going at the pace we're going."

"I'm suppose to be Gordon the High Speed Engine, not Gordon the Slow Engine, so move your lazy wheels!"

With that said, Gordon began to pick up speed. He pushed poor Morgan along the line, and to make things worse, his high speed was making the coaches rock back and forth, which gave the passengers a very uncomfortable ride.

"Slow it down Gordon!" cried his Driver, "There's no need to go this fast!"

"Oh yes there is," he called.

Gordon's wheels continued to pound the rails, despite all that her Driver and fireman tried, Gordon would not respond.

The train continued to race along at it's fast pace, until Gordon began to feel a little queer, "I think there's something wrong with the tender," he called to his crew.

"Oh no," groaned his Driver, "that's all we need, first your brakes fail on you and now this! I swear you're falling apart on us Gordon."

Thankfully, the train was brought to a stop at the next station. So while the passengers were checking the station out, Gordon's crew checked Gordon's tender over. It didn't take them far too long to find the problem.

"An axle box has failed on the tender wheels," the fireman said to Gordon, "we'll have to take you off the train."

"What?" Gordon spluttered, "I can't be taken off, who else will take over the train?"

"There's still Morgan," said the Driver, "he'll have to take all the coaches alone."

"Are you crazy? Morgan will never be able to pull the train, if Emily couldn't do it, then what chance does Morgan have?"

"He might have more strength than Emily does," answered the fireman, "besides, Morgan won't have to go too far. He'll soon reach the Other Railway, and Deltic can help him with the return journey."

Gordon grunted unhappily. His Driver then uncoupled Gordon from the train, then Morgan shunted him into a siding out of the way.

"Well Morgan," said Gordon's Driver, "you'll have to take the train, I know it'll be a little heavy without Gordon behind you. Do you think you pull it alone?"

Morgan looked back to the coaches, then back to Gordon's crew, "I'll definetly try my best. Back in the day, we had several engines do that, so it should be no problem at all."

Morgan's Driver agreed, "we'll give it our best shot," he said, "then we'll ask for Deltic to help us on the return journey."

When all was arranged, Morgan was coupled up to the front of the train. Then once the passengers were on board, and the guard had blown his whistle, Morgan began his own journey.

His wheels spun on the rails, but his wheels griped in a firm way, and slowly, wheel turn by wheel turn, Morgan's train began to move.

"That's it boy!" cried his Driver, "You're doing it! You're doing it!"

Morgan was using all the steam and energy he had to keep the train moving. Still, the journey went along smoothly. They continued onwards till the reached the first station on the Other Railway. Deltic was waiting there for Morgan.

"I'm impressed young engine," smiled Deltic, "you were able to pull a twelve coach passenger train on your own."

"Well," panted Morgan, "it certainly wasn't easy."

The passengers had a grand time exploring the yards of the Other Railway, there was quite a lot to see.

After a few hours, it was time for the return journey, Deltic was coupled to the coaches, while Morgan was once again coupled up in front again.

"Okay Morgan," called his Driver, "Are you ready to give these people the ride of their lives?"

"I certainly am," he cried, "just like the older engines did in the old days."

And he did too.

Murdoch was called to collect Gordon from the station, they were just about ready to leave, when Morgan and Deltic came out of nowhere, going very fast but smoothly.

"Peep, peep!" Morgan cheered happily.

"Looks like you've been shown up by another engine, huh Gordon?" Murdoch chuckled.

Gordon didn't say a single word, he only grinded his teeth.

These days, Morgan namely pulls goods trains, but he does pull passenger trains. He often helps with passenger trains whenever there are lots of passengers to take.

Gordon never grumbles about Morgan taking passengers now, although between you and me, he'll never admit it.

As for Morgan, during the middle of the night, he'll look out the window of the sheds and look at the moon. He smiles as he looks at it, feeling lucky to have been saved.

"I should really thank Thomas for saving me when I see him again," he thought to himself.

Then after looking at the moon, Morgan closes his eyes and dreams about engines in the past, back in the old days.

**Author's Note:**

The Axle box failure is loosely based on the real life event in 1995, when the GWR Mogul No. 7325 and Britannia '70000' were doubleheading a rail-tour train. The Mogul failed near Swansea, which left the Britannia to take the train on it's own.


	42. Unsafe Runaway

_**Unsafe Runaway**_

Summetime was a busy time up in the hills of Sodor where the Narrow Gauge Engines work. Thankfully now, with all the engines they have, the engines never felt overworked and never complained, which is true for Duncan.

At the end of another busy day, he puffed back into the sheds feeling quite proud.

"Whew!" he panted, "I've taken ten trains today, and not once did I make a mistake."

"That's wonderful Duncan," smiled Sakura, "I think we're all doing quite well."

"I'm actually surprised at how well we're all working well together," said Sir Handel, "cause normally, there would be too much work for us to do and the Thin Controller would need to bring in another engine."

"Doesn't look like that will happen today," said Bertram, "or any other day."

Besides on the railway, the workloads were also taken through the mountain roads by Madge the Sub Nosed Lorry. She didn't mind the extra work, cause it always gave her a chance to strecth her wheels.

And although most of the modern day lorries and cars all yell "what is this relic still doing on the road? Send her to a museum!" Madge continues on without taking their words too seriously. She likes being useful, and unlike many of the modern day lorries and cars, Madge hardly ever has breakdowns or have an accident.

One morning, Madge pulled into the transfer yards, just as Neville arrived with a train load of crates from the docks.

"Morning Neville," called Madge, "how's life on the main line for you?"

"It's pretty good," he smiled, "especially since Morgan came, thanks to him, Gordon, Henry and James hardly complain about the extra work. Personally, I think they like the idea of not shunting at all."

Madge chuckled quietly, just as Sir Handel arrived with a long line of trucks.

"I tell you," panted Sir Handel, "I've been run off my wheels today."

"There's that much work to do, huh?" asked Neville.

"Yes, I've already taken four trains to the Wharf, and it's not even the afternoon yet."

"Oh well Sir Handel," said his Driver, "we still have to do our part in helping with the workloads."

"I know," he groaned, "but I feel a little queer."

"Don't worry," said his fireman kindly, "we'll check you over tonight when we get back to the sheds."

Once the crates were loaded into the trucks, Sir Handel puffed away. And once Madge had her crates on her flatbed, she drove away, and Neville puffed off for the yards to do his next job.

Madge drove along at her nice smooth pace, she tooted a greeting to Skarloey as he was pulling a passenger train. And as usual, she arrived at her proper destination on time.

"Thank you Madge," said one of the shop owners, "we've been waiting for this to arrive, and now we can sell it again."

Madge was pleased as she rolled away for her next job.

She worked hard all day long, taking plenty of goods from the Transfer yards to the towns in the mountains, or taking crates to the transfer yards, so the engines could take them to the Wharf.

By the end of the day, Madge had just rolled into her little shed, when she and her Driver heard the phone ringing in the office.

"I'll get that," said her Driver, "you just rest your wheels."

Her Driver then walked off back to his office, while Madge rested in her comfortable garage, and of course, she was the only vehcile within the garage. She was just nodding off to sleep, when her Driver came out again.

"Sorry to bother you again old girl, but we've been called out to help. Sir Handel has broken down, and we're in luck, Sir Handel has broken down near that crossing of his infamous argument."

"Oh dear," said Madge, "what are we waiting for? Let's go help him!"

Her Driver agreed with her. He stepped back into her cab, turned on her engine, and then they set out to find Sir Handel.

They rolled along the road, until they found Sir Handel. Steam was leaking out in several places that it shouldn't, and poor Sir Handel was red in the face.

"I thought my overhaul would make me work like a new engine," he grumbled, "And yet it's only made me break down."

"Quit your complaining will you?" called his Driver.

Madge was kind enough not to say anything to Sir Handel, just in case she made the situation worse than it was.

"Could you take our last load to the next station?" Sir Handel's fireman asked, "Duke will be there to collect this load and take it to the Wharf."

"Of course we'll help," smiled Madge's Driver.

And so, Madge's Driver and Sir Handel's crew worked hard to load up Madge's flatbeds with the crates. Once she was loaded up, she rolled away, just as Rusty arrived to tow Sir Handel and his empty trucks away. Needless to say, Sir Handel said nothing at all.

Up the road, a news reporter was doing some shots of an unsafe runaway ramp. Like the railways, there are special roads known as 'runaway ramps', these are used to stop the runaway. However, this runaway ramp has called 'unsafe' so many times in the past. Other lorries who have been runaways had crashed on this very ramp and damaged all of the cargo they had been carrying.

This was the reason why the news reporter was filming the ramp.

Madge was just coming up past this area, when her Driver started to have some problems with the engine.

"What's wrong?" Madge asked.

"I'm not sure," he cried, then he noticed the runaway ramp, "I'll take you off the road, then I'll have a look at your engine."

And so, Madge was switched off the road and over to the runway ramp. The news reporter could hear them coming, he focused his camera on her, just as she rolled onto the ramp. Madge bumped into the first sand pile, which sent her flying into the air, then she banged into the second pile.

"Ouch!" she cried.

Then it happened, Madge's flatbed went flying up, then it pulled her to her right side, hitting the ground with a loud crash!

"Oh my!" gasped the news reporter.

Then, what surprised him even more, there was Madge's Driver climbing out of the wreckage, and now he was walking away with only a few scars here and there.

"Are you alright?" asked the news reporter.

"Yes," groaned the Driver, "just a little banged up, that's all. I only wish I could say the same for Madge, that was a terrible crash."

"No kidding," said the news reporter, "it's because of this runaway ramp that I'm here."

The news reporter then called for help, and while the two men waited, the news reporter explained to Madge's Driver why he was sent to film the runaway ramp.

Poor Madge felt battered all over, her front end had been damaged, the windows were broken and her right door had been crushed under the weight of her body. Her cargo was also in bad shape, the crates were broken and as for what it was carrying, it was damaged beyond repair.

Soon enough, Harold the Helicopter came to take Madge's Driver to the hospital, while Kelly and Nelson were called to tow Madge back to her garage. When they arrived, they found her owner and the Thin Controller waiting for them.

"I'm sorry sirs," groaned Madge, "I didn't mean to crash."

"Nobody ever means to crash like that," said the Thin Controller kindly, "accidents do happen."

"Indeed," agreed Madge's owner, "now, you don't have to worry about your repairs, we've got plenty of highly trained machanics that will repair you back to your original glory."

"Thank you sir."

Then Madge's owner turned to the Thin Controller, "what about you? You are now one engine short with Sir Handel at the steamworks."

"I know," sighed the Thin Controller, "this was not what I was expecting."

That night, the Thin Controller was calling a lot of people to see if they could spare any engines, but none of them could spare any engines. The Thin Controller was just about ready to give up, until he called one railway company.

"You do have an engine we could borrow?" he asked, "and he's the only one you can send? Okay then, send him on his way, we'll all make sure to greet him when he comes. Thank you very much."

As he was walking out of his office, he poundered to himself, "I sure hope this engine won't cause trouble for us, if it could happen to the Fat Controller's railway, then it could happen to ours."

Luckily the Thin Controller didn't have to worry that much, but that will have to wait till the engine arrives. In the meantime, the Thin Controller got a ride with Rusty on his way to the Transfer yards, then he rode his bike all the way home.

**Author's Note:**

Madge's runaway ramp incident was inspired by the actual real life events of a dangerous track ramp that was suppose to prevent accidents, but it was causing accidents every time. Reason being was that the sand acted like a wall with each sand pile. It was because of that, that the news reporter had been called in to make a news report about the hazards of the ramp, when he actually caught an accident with a runaway truck. It's crash was similar to that of Madge's crash, and for the driver, he walked away from the crash with a few cuts, but he's okay. The truck I believe was scrapped, but for Madge, she only needs to be repaired and she'll return.


	43. Dan Pulls Threw

_**Dan Pulls Threw**_

"I know the Thin Controller will give me Sir Handel's jobs," grumbled Duncan, the very next morning, "it's always an obvious choice to him."

Before any of the little engines could say anything, the Thin Controller arrived at the sheds, he was looking over to Duncan, "Duncan, I would like you to help with Sir Handel's work while he is away."

"I knew it," Duncan muttered.

"Sir," Smudger called, "would it be okay if I do Sir Handel's work instead? I don't have that much to do today, unlike Duncan, who has too much on his buffers."

The Thin Controller paused to think it over for a minute, "very well then Smudger," he said, "you can do it." The Thin Controller then gave out the rest of the jobs to the other engines, then he rode away on his bicycle.

"Why did you..."

"Why did I take the jobs away from you?" Smudger asked, "well, I know how much work you have to do, you'd be falling apart if you had to do Sir Handel's jobs."

"And that's it?"

"That," Smudger chuckled, "plus I didn't want to hear you complaining anymore."

Before Duncan could reply back, Smudger was on his way out of the shed. Much to the other engine's surprise, Duke was chuckling along to Smudger's little joke, although it was a quiet chuckle.

As the morning wore on, Smudger worked hard with his jobs and Sir Handel's as well. It wasn't that difficult for him, he actually enjoyed the chance to pull long trains.

"Anyone would think that you love working with trucks," his Driver chuckled.

"You could say that," said Smudger, "but at least working with trucks is better than working as a pumping engine for an old engine shed that isn't being used any more."

"You sure are a lucky little engine," said the fireman.

"Yes indeed, but I am thankful for Madge and her Driver, for it was them who brought me back here. I sure hope they can repair her back to her grand form again."

"Don't worry about Madge," said the Driver, "I'm sure they'll do a good job and she'll be back on the road before you know it."

Smudger sighed happily, and blew a happy whistle as he came up to a crossing.

Soon enough, Smudger and his long train arrived at the Wharf. As they came to a stop beside the wooden platform, he saw an engine he had never seen before. This little engine was quite long with four driving wheels on each end of him, and he was painted in tusken red paint. He looked quite friendly, especially when he looked over to Smudger and smiled.

"Hello there," called the engine, "oh my, that's a long train, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Smudger, "although, I could do with a good rest. I've never seen you here before, what brings you to our little railway?"

"I've been asked by your Thin Controller to do the jobs of one of his engines, named Sir Handel."

At that moment, the little diesel's Driver pushed in a lever, and he rumbled away.

"He seems quite nice," Smudger thought to himself, "I think he'll be a welcome addition in the sheds tonight."

"Especially with Sir Handel away," added his Driver, "cause I'm sure that he wouldn't be too pleased to know that another diesel engine has come to work in the yards with us."

Smudger chuckled quietly, "I guess so," he puffed.

His Driver opened the regualtor and Smudger puffed on over to the water tower.

That night, Smudger was one of the last engines to arrive. Almost all the other engines were there, Skarloey was the only one away as he was working with another goods train.

"Has anyone seen the new diesel engine?" Smudger asked.

"I have," called Peter Sam, "he honked his horn in a kind way to me."

"It's nice to know that there are some diesels that don't want to cause trouble," said Duncan, "unlike certain ones on the Fat Controller's railway I could mention."

"Shh," called the other engines, and Duncan quickly subsided to silence.

"I have to admit," said Sakura, "that I have not met this engine yet, who is he?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard a diesel horn and the sounds of a diesel motor coming towards their shed. Within seconds, the long tusken red diesel had pulled up in front of the little engines.

"Hello there," he called, "I hope you've all had a good day."

"We have," said Rheneas kindly, "tell us dear engine, what is your name?"

"Oh silly me," the diesel chuckled, "I forgot to mention my name before, I'm so sorry. My name is Daniel, but my friends all call me Dan."

Then, one by one, the other engines all introduced themselves.

"I'm only sorry that Skarloey isn't here to meet you," said Peter Sam.

"Oh, but I've met him already, I saw him on my way here."

It was Sakura who spoke up next, "what is your railroad like?"

"Well, my railroad is a nice one, but it's becoming a thing of the past. Unless my owners can find a way out of our money debts, by the end of the month, my line will surely close down."

"How terrible," groaned Peter Sam, who was thinking back to the ending days of his old railway.

"Don't worry though," Dan smiled, "I'm sure my manager will find a way to pull us threw this amount of debt we're in, just I did before..."

The engines all looked at Dan in surprise, "what do you mean by that?" Freddie asked.

"Well," Dan said as he looked down to his buffers, "at one time, I saved a steam engine from being sent off for scrap. I could tell you about it, if you would like."

"Yes please!" cried all the little engines, and this included Duncan.

"Very well," smiled Dan and began his story.

"You see, it all started back to the days of when the steam engines were fading from site. Many of them were often taken away to the smelters yard to be broken up. Some were bought up to be preserved, I was pleased for them, but not many of my brothers or sisters."

"One day, I was told that another steam engine was to be towed away, he was a standard gauge engine with eight driving wheels. However, there was talk that some people wanted to buy him up and safe him from scrap. The yard foreman however, only wanted him gone."

" 'Move that piece of junk to the smelters and get rid of him!' he barked to a main liner. The steamer looked scared, he shut his eyes and prepared for the worst, but it never came - instead, what came was the sound of a diesel motor breaking down, it was mine."

The engines looked on with interest.

"What happened then?" Rusty asked.

"Well...the foreman was mad with me that much was for sure, he barked his orders at me and my driver to move away, but with my broken down engine, I was in no postion to go anywhere."

" 'Don't you worry', I said to the big main line steam engine, 'I won't let them take you'."

" 'You shouldn't have done that, little engine,' he said to me, 'you're going to get into trouble because of me'."

" 'I don't care at all, if I have to, I'll stay here and rust before I let you go to the smelters. There's still hope for an engine like you, and I'm not going to let that stupid foreman move me away'."

"The steam engine was quite surprised, but he was smiling at me, 'thank you my friend'."

"The yard foreman tried again and again to repair my engine and move me away, but no sooner had he repaired it, then I would break down again. I was getting sick, but I didn't care about myself at the moment."

" 'What is going on around here?' asked my controller. The yard foreman told him of how I was ruining the plan to scrap the steam engine. I'm happy to say though that my controller didn't look cross at me at all, 'it's a good thing that Dan has broken down here, cause that engine he's saving is not going to the scrap yards, he's going to be preserved on a hertiage line'."

" 'Bother and blow', groaned the yard foreman, it was clear to say that he really hated steam engines. Anyways, after I was repaired, the steam engine was towed away towards his new home, last I heard, he's still running trains to this day and is a popular attraction with the visitors that come to see him."

There was a short pause after Dan's story was told, until Sakura spoke up, "did you ever hear from that engine again?"

"No, I haven't heard or seen him again, I don't even know his name, but I keep hoping for the day when I finally do get to see him again."

At last, Duncan spoke up, "that was mighty brave of you to stand up to the main line diesels and a yard foreman too. But I have to ask, weren't you scared?"

"A little bit," said Dan meekily, "but it's like I said, I didn't care about myself, I only cared about that engine."

"You are a perfect example of a helpful engine," said Peter Sam, "putting yourself in a position like that to help a friend, why I would say that that's an enterprising move right there."

All the other little engines agreed with him, "well, thank you," said Dan happily.

Before long, it was time for the engines to go to sleep. Dan however, wasn't sleeping at all. He was looking out the window to the star filled sky and thinking about the engine he saved. And for a split second, he thought he heard it's whistle once more.

I wonder if Dan will ever meet that engine again, what do you think?


	44. Smashing!

_**Smashing!**_

The little engines were certainly impressed with Dan's working performances. He often took two of Sir Handel's trains in one go, and still had more than enough pulling power to take some of Madge's loads.

"For a diesel, that Dan sure is a strong fellow," said Duncan to Peter Sam one morning, "I'm actually glad that the Thin Controller brought him here."

"Same here," agreed Peter Sam.

All the little engines were quite fond of the diesel, especially after hearing about his daring rescue.

"I remember hearing about a little diesel that saved a steam engine from the scrap yards," Henry was saying when Sakura had finished telling the story, "I just never thought the little engine would come here. Where is he anyways?"

"Last time I checked, he was out and about with a goods train," Sakura answered, "I tell you, he's certainly a wonderful engine to have around here. I only wish he could stay with us, but he'll be going away once Sir Handel returns."

"It is a shame really," said Sakura's Driver, "he would make a fine addition to our railway."

"That's something you don't normally hear from us," said Henry as his fireman coupled him up to his trucks, "Whenever we get visiting diesels, they usually cause us so much trouble that we're more than glad to see them go away."

At last, Henry's guard blew the whistle and Henry had to leave.

"Take care young Sakura!" he called, "see you again soon!"

It wasn't just Sakura who was wishing for Dan to stay on the railway, mostly all the other little engines wanted him to stay.

"Don't we get a saying in this?" Duncan asked.

"Afraid not," answered Rheneas, "it's the Thin Controller's choice, not ours."

"All we can do is enjoy the time he's here," said Skarloey.

"Which won't be for too long," groaned Mac as he looked down to his buffers, "Victor will make sure the workmen that Sir Handel's repairs are completed in no time, like he always has done before."

Even the Thin Controller wanted to keep Dan, "he certainly has proven just how useful he can be," he thought to himself, "and it would be nice to have another engine around in case one of my other engines break down."

At that moment, the phone rang, Mister Percival picked it up, "Hello? Oh hello there. Yes, Dan is doing quite fine here. Yes, all of my little engines gave him a wonderful welcome. Oh yes, we're keeping a good eye on him, thanks again for sending him. It was nice talking to you too, good-bye."

During one of his runs, Dan met up with another tusken red engine at the Wharf, it was a big tender engine named Niki.

"Hello there, Niki's name is Niki, who are you?"

"My name is Dan," said the small diesel engine, "I'm working here until Sir Handel and Madge are back at work."

"Are you enjoying your stay so far?"

"Indeed I am, although I would like to stay here a little longer if I could, this seems to be a nice friendly railway after all. Plus I would love to run alongside with such amazing steam engines, it's always been a dream of mine to work with them."

"Why don't you ask the Thin Controller? Whenever Niki gets into a bit trouble, she always tells the Fat Controller."

"I would, except visiting engines don't have a saying in this."

"Who says?"

"Many of the engines on my old line often said so, they say that a visiting engine never talks to the controller except when they arrive and when it's time to go."

Dan rumbled sadly away to collect another goods train, Niki felt sorry for the little engine.

"There must be a way to help him," she said to her Driver.

"Oh I'm sure that the little engines will come with something," he said, "I have a strong feeling they like Dan too and won't want him to go away."

Many of the other little engines were wondering how to help their new friend, but none had any ideas, until Peter Sam came up with one.

"Why don't we try a deputation? That worked with Donald and Douglas, according to what Edward says."

"The engines got themselves into trouble for doing that," grumbled Duncan.

"But it did work as you can see on the big engine's lines."

"I agree with Peter Sam," said Smudger, "we should try."

At last Skarloey spoke up, "maybe it would be a good idea to wait until we hear what the Thin Controller will have to say after Sir Handel and Madge come back."

"I have a strong feeling by that time it will be too late," sighed Sakura to herself.

The following next morning, Dan was out and about with a goods train and having a small conversation with his Driver.

"You seem down my little engine," said the Driver, "are any of the engines giving you trouble?"

"No," he sighed, "it's just that I really like working here - if I may say this Driver, I don't want to leave this lovely line."

"I have the same thoughts myself my engine, but it's up to the Thin Controller and not us."

"I know," he sighed deeply, "but what's really troubling me is what will become of me if our line closes down."

"That is a problem Dan, but I'm sure we'll find a way out of that mess."

Dan continued rumbling along the line with the trucks rolling along smoothly behind him. They quite enjoyed running behind Dan.

"He's a better engine than Sir Handel," said one of the trucks, "he doesn't bump us and he gives us a smooth ride."

To hear something like that was a high compuliment indeed.

After collecting another train, Dan rumbled off back to the yards with his empty trucks. He and his Driver could see a long line of cars and lorries going across the infamous crossing of Sir Handel and George's fight.

As he got closer, the crossing arms started to go down, then there was trouble. Dan could see a flatbed lorry going across the crossing, just as the gates were going down behind it. It's trailer was now sticking out over the railway lines.

"Oh good glory!" cried the Driver and applied the brakes and blew Dan's horn loudly.

"Move!" Dan shouted, "please move out of the way!"

But the lorry didn't move, none of the roadway vehicles could - there was a traffic jam, backed up as far as the eye could see. Dan's brakes went on with a groan, but it was no good.

"Brace yourself Dan!" shouted the Driver. That's all Dan could do, he shut his eyes tight and awaited for the crash.

Dan ran into the back of the lorry's trailer with a huge bump, the force of the blow pushed the lorry into five other vehicles that were in front of him. Dan rolled on for a while, brakes still groaning until at last he stopped.

"I hope nobody has been hurt," he thought to himself.

His Driver climbed down to see if anyone was hurt, much to his relief, nobody was.

"You should have waited on the other side of the crossing," Dan's driver told the lorry driver, "then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

The lorry driver didn't reply back, he was ashamed for what had happened.

Soon Butch the tow truck arrived to take the damage lorries and cars away.

"I wonder what did cause this traffic jam," wondered Dan. He soon found out, as he saw a stubborn man sitting in his car and refusing to move. It wasn't until the police ordered him to move, that he did.

When that was settled out, Dan rumbled on his way to the yards with his front end feeling sore.

"That's something I don't want to do again," he groaned, "I wonder what Mister Percival is going to say when he finds out about this."

When he arrived, he found the Thin Controller waiting for him.

"I heard all about the accident and I know it wasn't your fault. It was that stubborn man, according to what the police officers have told me," he then looked over to Dan's driver, "how bad is the damage?"

"It's not that bad," he said, "surprising there's a few dents here and there, I'm actually quite surprised that he didn't come off the rails at the speed we were going."

"Yes indeed, it could've been much worse," he then turned his attention back to Dan, "I'll have my workmen work on you tonight, and tomorrow, I would like you to work on passenger runs for a change."

"That's smashing sir," Dan groaned as his Driver felt his buffers. Neither the Thin Controller or his own Driver could tell if Dan was joking around, it was a little hard to tell at that moment.

**Author's Note:**

The accident at the crossing was based on the event where a tractor-trailer was crossing over the crossing as a heavy freight train was coming down the tracks. The truck stopped with the back of the trailer stuck on the crossing because of a traffic jam, reason for the traffic jam is unknown. The lead diesel smashed the trailer with a loud bang, forcing the truck forward and smash into five more cars. Luckily nobody was injuried in the accident and the engines didn't derail.


	45. The Tremendous Rescue

_**The Tremendous Rescue**_

Within a few days, Sir Handel and Madge were finally allowed back at work again. They were both repaired to look like new. Why, Madge looked like she wasn't even involved in an accident, and Sir Handel looked and ran like a new steam engine again.

"It feels good to be rolling on my own rails again," he called to Madge, "it was a little boring in the workshops."

"It wasn't that bad for me," called Madge, "but I have to admit that I quite enjoy running on the roads again. I'm just looking forward to getting back to work..." it was then that they heard the sounds of a diesel motor, "sounds like your controller brought in another engine."

Sir Handel looked and gasped to see Dan the Tusken red diesel rumble past with passenger carriages in tow.

"I've been replaced," Sir Handel snorted, "and by a diesel! It's disgraceful!"

Sir Handel continued to pout all the way back to the sheds.

Dan soon rumbled into the Wharf with his coaches, but he wasn't happy.

"With Sir Handel and Madge back, I will be sent back."

"Oh well," sighed the Driver, "it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Yeah, but I am glad to have met so many wonderful engines."

"They are great engines," his Driver sighed deeply, "I think we're both going to miss them all."

Dan sadly agreed with his Driver and went off to collect some trucks once uncoupled from the coaches.

After the long working day, Dan rolled up outside of the sheds, eager to talk to the other engines, but the enterance was blocked by Sir Handel.

"You were sent here to help until I returned," he snapped, "now why don't you go back to wherever you came from! This railway doesn't any of your horrible kind here, we have one diesel here already, we don't need two, especially one like you."

Rheneas and Sakura were in the sheds and were shocked by Sir Handel's rude words.

"Driver," whispered Dan quietly, "do you mind if we stay somewhere else tonight?"

The driver sighed unhappily, "alright then, I'll park you next to the carriage sheds."

So the Driver reserved the sad little diesel away, while Sir Handel smirked with triumph.

"That was easier than I had thought," but he wasn't smirking for long when Rheneas spoke up in a serious way.

"In all my years Sir Handel," he said in an angry tone, "I have never seen an engine snap at an innocent engine like that before, you don't even know Dan."

"I don't want to know him, he's useless!"

"And what about Rusty?" asked Sakura, "from what you had just said, you might it sound like you don't want him around here anymore."

"But I was quick to defend him, this diesel however doesn't need defending."

"From you, I think he does."

"My dear Sakura, you have to understand that there are some engines out there that are not worthy of joining a railway like ours..."

"Is that why you acted the way you did when I came?" Sir Handel went silent, "as I thought, you don't have an answer to that at all."

"I think you should say sorry to Dan when you next see him."

"No," Sir Handel snapped, "I won't and that's final!" Sir Handel can be a little stubborn, and tonight was going to be of no exception.

A little later, when the other engines were coming in, they could see Dan parked outside.

"What is he doing there?" asked Peter Sam, "he's more than welcome in our sheds."

"I think it has a lot to do with Sir Handel," said Rusty.

Indeed Rusty was right, for although Sir Handel didn't say anything, they quickly knew that he had done something to upset Dan. They were cross with him, especially when Sakura and Rheneas told the others what Sir Handel said to the little diesel.

"Your poor judgement would never suit his grace," said Duke firmly, "you should remember the old..."

"I don't think that should work for a diesel like him!" snapped Sir Handel.

"In case you forgot Sir Handel, I'm a diesel," said Rusty firmly, "does that mean you won't be showing me any respect either?"

"No, just to _that_ diesel."

"I think you should get to know him," said Mac.

"Indeed," agreed Mighty, "he's a friendly engine who likes us and we like him."

"It's all a game, several diesels have done it before on the Fat Controller's railway before and look what happened then."

The engines sadly had to give up, for Sir Handel had made up his mind.

Duncan and Smudger however thought it would be a good idea if they spent the night with Dan, so they asked their drivers to park them beside him or in front of him. Dan was happy to see them and talked with them all night long.

"Don't worry," Duncan said to him at one point, "sooner or later, Sir Handel will learn how useful you can be. It usually takes an accident or near miss to make him learn his lesson."

"So I wouldn't worry too much about it," Smudger added.

"Thank you my friends," Dan sighed unhappily and looked down to the ballast.

The next day was suppose to be Dan's last day on the railway, he was sad to be going. He rolled smoothly along down the tracks to the wharf, all the while he was thinking about Sir Handel's poor attitude.

Soon they reached the Wharf, only to find trouble. Sir Handel had come off on the crossing that crossed the big railway and worse still, there was a huge line of trucks on the big line heading towards him. They had been teasing Diesel about his accident years ago, which got him cross and as a result of it all, he bumped them hard - a little too hard

"SMASH HIM! SMASH HIM!" they chattered in their cheeky way.

Sir Handel gasped in horror and tried to move, but he couldn't.

Without thinking twice, Dan rolled on down the line and bumped into Sir Handel, bumping him back on the rails and derailing himself at the same time.

The Driver jumped clear as the trucks smashed into Dan with a shattering crash. Dan was pushed along on the big line until at last, the trucks stopped.

"Dan!" cried the Driver, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," he groaned.

"That was a risky move you pulled off there, why did you do that?"

"I just did what any other engine would've done."

When the Thin Controller heard the news, he went to see Dan for himself.

"I'm really sorry sir," groaned Dan, "I've been nothing but trouble to you, but I had to do what I had to do to help Sir Handel."

"That's okay Dan, I'm not mad at you."

Dan was confused, especially to see a smile on the Thin Controller's face.

"Not many engines would have that kind of courage to save another engine from a collision course with those trucks on the main line. You are an inspiration to all engines, I am proud of you and I think you deserve...a trip to the works."

"Oh thank you sir," he smiled.

Skarloey and Smudger soon arrived with the breakdown train, while Diesel came by to tow the trucks away. The Thin Controller scolded him badly.

"Why am I always being scolded?" he grumbled.

"It's because you're always causing trouble," snapped his Driver, "I wish you would learn to behave and not cause trouble."

As soon as Dan was lifted back onto the tracks, the workmen inspected him all over. His side was bashed and one of his wheels was dented out of place, so Skarloey and Smudger were asked to take him to the works.

"You are a wonderful engine," Smudger said as they started their journey, "and a brave one too."

"You should be proud of yourself," smiled Skarloey, "cause you really are an inspiration to all engines and a hero too."

Dan didn't say anything, but he was smiling happily.

Of course, when the Thin Controller found out what Sir Handel had said about Dan, he spoke to him severaly, "that's twice now I've had to have this conversation with you," he said angerily, "if I hear you say something like this to anymore engines that come into our yards again, then I'll give you a lesson you won't forget."

"Yes sir," Sir Handel groaned quietly, who remained quiet for several days afterwords.

When Dan returned from the works, he joined the other engines and the Thin Controller at the Wharf.

"I've been hearing from all of you," said the Thin Controller, "of Dan's fine work and hearing how much you engines like him for all he has done, then there's the matter of hearing how you don't want him to go."

Smudger spoke up in a quiet way, "that's right sir, Dan is a great engine to work with and a good friend to talk to. We've all been hoping that he would stay, but I guess that won't be happening now that Sir Handel is back."

There was silence for a few seconds, before the Thin Controller spoke up, "I agree with you that it would be nice to have Dan around here, especially when one of you breaks down."

"It would have been nice," muttered Dan quietly.

"Now there is something I forgot to mention, when I was talking with Dan's original controller a few days ago, he said to me that if I liked how well Dan worked, I could keep him," there was a quiet silence, the engines wanted to know the answer, "and I am impressed with Dan, so I have to decided to buy him and keep him here. As long as it's okay with you Dan."

Dan was quiet for a while, then - "Oh yes please sir!"

The Thin Controller smiled and held his ears, he knew what was coming. All his little engines tooted their whistles and air horns in delight.

"I think I'm going to love living here," smiled Dan, and even his Driver happily agreed with the little tusken red diesel, who tooted his horn in delight.

But I bet you're wondering about Dan's old line right? Well, thanks to the selling of Dan to the Thin Controller, it was saved from going out of business. And as for Sir Handel, he's still being too quiet, especially when he's around Sakura, Smudger, Rusty and Dan, maybe next time he'll remember to never judge others.


	46. Percy's Broken Whistle

_**Percy's Broken Whistle**_

Every engine's whistle is very different. Some have a low pitch sound, like what Gordon, Hank, Murdoch and even Hiro have. Others have high pitched whistles like Billy, Whiff, Thomas and Percy. Despite having different sounding whistles, the engines love their whistles and blow them when they need to. Sometimes however, whistles can break or get clogged and they don't work properly.

One morning, Percy puffed into Tidmouth yards to collect some trucks. He blew his whistle as a greeting to Charlie, but what came out instead was a terrible sound that sounded like a big duck quacking.

"What's wrong with my whistle?" Percy asked.

"I'm not sure," said his fireman, "give me a second and I'll have a look at it."

The fireman got out of the cab to look at the whistle, it didn't him too long to find out what happened to it, "it's bent out of shape," he called to the Driver.

"That must've happened when we were at the docks earlier."

"Bother Cranky," Percy groaned, "thanks to him, my whistle is broken and I know if Gordon, Henry or James hear me whistle, they'll never let me hear the end of it!"

"Maybe we should get it fixed or replaced," said the fireman.

"No time," said the Driver, "We have several other jobs to do at this time, so let's go."

The fireman climbed back into the cab and Percy started away. He was hoping that no one would hear the sounds of his broken whistle.

His first job to do that day was to take some loaded rubbish trucks to the dump where Whiff and Scruff work. He puffed in nice and quietly, when he felt his Driver's hand on the whistle chain, "Don't pull it!"

"I have to," said the Driver, "otherwise Whiff and Scruff won't know that we are here."

Percy closed his eyes as his driver pulled on the cord for his whistle, which made the strange sound again.

Scruff came up in a few short minutes and puffed up beside Percy, he was surprised, "oh my," he gasped, "was that your whistle Percy? It doesn't sound too good."

"I know," Percy groaned.

"If you want, Whiff and I can take that whistle for you."

"Sorry Scruff, but I still need this whistle, no matter what it sounds like."

Percy was soon moved out of the way while Scruff collected the trucks and pulled off to the crusher. Percy collected more trucks and puffed away with another blow of his broken whistle.

He soon came to a level crossing, Bertie the Bus was waiting there for Percy to pass. Percy's Driver blew the broken whistle a few times, which made Bertie gasp.

"Was that..."

"Yes it was me!" Percy groaned, "my whistle is broken, okay? There's nothing I can do about it!"

Percy's second job was to collect diesel oil and take it to the smelters for 'Arry and Bert. Percy was worried of what the scrap iron diesels would say if they heard his broken whistle.

Before long, Percy arrived at the smelters yard, but the diesels were nowhere to be seen.

"Good," he thought to himself, "maybe now I can sneak away before they hear me."

But it was no good, the Driver's hand went for the whistle cord, "please don't, not here."

But the Driver did, he pulled the chain, which blew the loud broken whistle. However, the diesels didn't come to collect their oil. Percy sighed in relief, until his Driver pulled on the cord again.

"Maybe they're busy with another job," Percy said, "we can always leave the tankers in a siding for them to collect."

"I guess that would be okay," his Driver said.

So Percy moved the tankers to a nearby siding, then after being uncoupled from them, he puffed away. As he did so, he could see the scrap iron diesels come up with empty flatbeds.

"I need to get away from them," Percy groaned.

He was soon out of sight, and away from 'Arry and Bert, who were looking for the source of the strange sound.

Percy's third job that day was to collect flour trucks from Molly's flour mill. Molly was nowhere to be seen, so he didn't need to worry about someone else hearing his broken whistle, but this also meant that he had to the shunting himself, he didn't mind that.

"Once this job is done," his Driver said to him, "we'll be heading back to the branch line."

"That's good," Percy smiled, "at least I know the other engines there won't tease me about my whistle."

Just then, James passed by with a goods train. All his trucks were filled with crates, all full of - ducks!

"Hello Percy," James called.

"Hi James, what are you doing here?"

"That's what I would like to know," he groaned, "I was suppose to take these trucks to the zoo, and yet I end up here at the flour mill."

"The signalman must've forgotten to change the points again," James' Driver groaned, "don't worry about it James, I'm sure there's another route to the zoo, I'll go check for myself."

So James' Driver walked off to find a map, just as Percy had finished shunting.

"Time to go Percy," called his Driver.

"Right, I'll see you later James!"

Just as Percy was pulling away with his trucks, his Driver pulled on the whistle cord, making his broken sound loud and long. The noises made all the ducks quack loudly, while James laughed.

"Oh my, and here I thought we only had one 'Duck' on the Island."

"It's not funny," Percy groaned as he puffed away.

Later that day, Percy was finally returning to the junction for Thomas' branch line, when the stationmaster there came up to see him.

"You're needed at the zoo," he called.

Percy groaned, "just because I have a whistle that sounds like a duck, it does not mean that I am a duck."

"Who's orders are those?" Percy's Driver asked.

"The Fat Controller's orders," said the stationmaster, "according to his phone call, it has something to do with James and some ducks. He needs Percy and his special whistle there right now."

"Come on then Percy," called his Driver, "let's go!"

So once Percy had shunted his trucks into a siding, he puffed off 'light engine' to find James.

When he reached the zoo, he and his crew discovered just what the stationmaster meant. All the ducks that James had been taking to the zoo had escaped his trucks and were now waddling all over the place.

"Thank goodness you've come," said James' Driver, "We need you to blow your whistle."

"Why?" Percy asked curiosuly.

"Your whistle sounds like their quacking, so they might listen to you."

"And I was hoping not to become a duck," Percy groaned, "let's give it a try!"

His Driver blew on the whistle cord and blew Percy's loud broken whistle. The ducks heard him and started waddling over towards him. Percy continued to blow off his whistle until all the ducks were taken off to the zoo.

"Whew!" Percy gasped after all the ducks were taken away, "I'm glad that's over."

James was actually quite surprised, "and here I thought that whistle was yours sounded like a great joke. I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry for teasing you earlier at the flour mill, Percy."

"Ah that's okay James," Percy smiled, "just be lucky that my whistle sounded like this, if it didn't, how would you be able to get those ducks into the zoo."

James didn't answer him back, mostly cause there was no answer.

The next day, Percy returned to the sheds with a brand new whistle. It sparkled in the sunshine as he backed into his engine berth.

"This has got to be a first," Thomas chuckled, "For once, an engine's broken whistle actually helped to save the day."

"And you were able to shut James up too," Emily smiled.

"Yes indeed," Percy agreed as he looked up to his Driver, who was polishing the whistle again.

"Maybe for now on, we should call you 'Percy the Quacker Engine'," Thomas suggested as a joke. All the other engines laughed, Percy especially, he thought it was a great joke.

Although, if you try talking to James about the event, you'll get no reply out of him. He doesn't think it was funny, not one bit.


	47. Byron to the Rescue

_**Byron to the Rescue**_

Byron is the only bulldozer of Miss Jenny's pack of machines, he's often used to smoothen the dirt, but he can sometimes be used to clear snow from the roads. He's a good hearted machine and a good friend to everyone, Alfie especially as it was Byron that saved him when he was sinking into a muddy pond.

One day, while working at another site, Edward the Blue Engine had been stopped at a red signal and was taking the time to talk to Byron about some of the heroic deeds done over the yards.

"From what I have heard from Skarloey," Edward was saying, "Rusty had told the engines to not use the old wooden bridge, yet Duncan did."

"That sounds like him for sure," Byron muttered quietly.

"The bridge started to collapse underneath him, but thanks to Rusty, he was saved from a dip into the water below."

"That Rusty sure is brave. I wish I could do something heroic like that."

"You have, remember?" his operator asked, "you saved Alfie."

"Yes indeed," Edward agreed, "that is a heroic deed indeed. Remember this, Byron, whenever trouble comes up, you need to think quickly and know when is the right time to step in to save the day."

"Like Rusty did," he smiled.

Edward smiled, then he looked up to the signal, it had changed to green, "Well Byron, I'd loved to stay and talk some more, but I am needed elsewhere. Remember what I said."

"I will," he called as Edward puffed away.

During the time of the Pack's work at the site, Byron often spoke to other engines and heard more stories about heroic deeds. When he spoke to Duck, he heard about how he saved lives the time he went crashing into a barber shop. Then Neville told him about when Thomas saved him from a broken piece of bridge, and even Douglas told him of his rescue operation to save Oliver.

All that time, he remembered what Edward had said to him, "whenever trouble comes up, I need to think quickly and know when is the right time to step in to save the day," he thought to himself.

The site was close to an old fashioned grogery store, with two steel doors at the front and an old creaky door at the back for the employees. Byron would always see lots of people going inside, then minutes later, they come out with bags of grogeries. It seemd pretty much normal, except for one man, who would stand outside of the store and watching in a suspecious way.

"What could he be up to?" Byron asked himself.

"Come on Byron," called his operator, "we need your blade where Jack is."

"Coming," Byron called, still keeping a close eye on the man until he went off to work.

For the next three days, Byron would see the man watching the store again and again, but not going inside. Which made him wonder what the man was up to.

"You know something," he was saying to Kelly the Crane, "I think that that man is up to something. All he does is look at that store, he doesn't even go inside."

"I see what you mean," Kelly was quiet for a minute, "whenever you can, keep an eye on that man, I have a strange feeling now that he might be up to something bad."

Byron promised to keep an eye on the man, and for two more days, that's just what he did.

Then one day, Byron's worries came into play. The man appeared again, but he did go inside, just a few seconds after a young woman went in.

Byron watched for as long as he could - then he saw many of the other customers run out looking terrified. They told Byron's driver that the man was armed and had a woman hostage.

"I knew it was only a matter of time," Byron groaned.

Soon enough, police officers appeared on the scene. They tried talking to the man to surrender, but he was not willing to do so. Then they sent in what Byron calls a small machine that moves by itself with a mobile phone with it.

"Surrender now!" one of the police officer.

But the man never did surrender, he even said so to the police.

As Byron watched the conflict go on, he remembered what Edward had said to him before "_Remember this, Byron, whenever trouble comes up, you need to think quickly and know when is the right time to step in to save the day._"

If there was ever a time to be brave, then today was that day. Byron thought about how he could help. Then he came up with the idea of breaking down the wall to allow officers to go after the suspect.

"It's too dangerous," said his operator.

"I know," said Byron, "but sometimes, you need to put yourself into danger to help others."

His operator thought about it for a minute, then called out to the police. Once the plan was explained, the police agreed to give it a try. They gave Byron's operator a vast to protect himself.

"Alright Byron," he said, "are you ready for this?"

"I'm ready," he said.

Jack, Max and Kelly watched from a distance as Byron rumbled over to the back of the store, they were quite surprised to see their friend do something like this.

"Alright Byron, let's knock on the back door!"

Byron responded by charging to the wall, his blade up, then smashed it into the wall. He bashed it a few more times before the wall had come down.

"Back him out," shouted one of the other officers, "we're ready for him!"

They threw something into the building, which made a loud bang and flashed a white light. Still, the man didn't give up, he just moved to the front of the store with the hostage.

"Here we go again," said Byron.

His operator moved him to the front end of the store, the left corner to where the criminal was. Then Byron smashed the wall down one more time. The police finally got their chance to stop the criminal as they knocked him down. The hostage was able to run away to safety.

The police went over to the store and handcuffed the man, he was hurt, but not seriously.

"Thank you," one of the officers called to Byron and his operator.

They responded by smiling at the officers.

The next day, Byron's operator presented to him a special certificate for their bravery, but that was not all, there was also a medal in the package from the police.

"I think this belongs to you more," his operator said to his bulldozer, "since it was you who offered to help."

"First you save me," said Alfie, "and now you saved a young woman during a robbery. You should be proud of yourself."

"He should," said a familar voice, it was Miss Jenny, "Byron, you pulled off a dangerous rescue yesterday, and I have to say that I'm proud of you too. As a reward, I'm sending you to have your blade repaired and for you to have a new coat of paint."

"Oh thank Miss Jenny," Byron smiled.

When he came out of the garage, Byron looked like a brand new bulldozer.

He went back to work the following afternoon, and when he had the time, he spoke to Edward all about what he did.

"I heard all about it from Kelly," said Edward, "you were really brave to do something like that."

"Yes indeed," Byron smiled, "but I would never have done something like that if it hadn't been for the advice you gave me."

"And now you've performed two heroic acts," said his operator, "you're probably going to make all the other bulldozers jealous."

Edward and Byron laughed until the bulldozer had to go back to work, and Edward had to leave to collect more trucks.

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on the real life event of a bulldozer and the operator going to the rescue when a criminal takes a woman hostage. The bulldozer broke down the wall in the back first to allow police to stun the criminal, but when he moved to the front, the bulldozer did the same thing and smashed the wall down, once again allowing the police to bring the suspect down and safe the woman. The operator was rewarded for his heroic actions a few days later, where and when it happened is unknown.


	48. School Trains

_**School Trains**_

It was quiet in Mister Percival's office, he was looking over the papers on his desk - when his phone rang.

"Hello? Oh hello my old friend. What's that you say? Your old school bus has broken down again? Oh I'm sorry to hear that - well sure, I'd be glad to help again, as I'm sure my engines will too. Very well then, goodbye."

After he hung up, the Thin Controller walked over to the coat rack, grabbed his jacket and bowler hat and headed off to the sheds.

"What?" Sir Handel asked when the Thin Controller told them of his plan, "you want us to run a what?"

"It's a school train Sir Handel," the Thin Controller explained, "it'll be used to pick up the children in the morning and take them to school in the village. This train will only run during the morning, not the afternoon."

"Then how are the children going to get home?" Peter Sam asked.

"They usually get a ride home on the afternoon passenger train," Skarloey answered.

"That's right Skarloey," the Thin Controller smiled, "I'm glad to see that you remember how the school trains run. Now normally, I would pick only one engine to do the job, but I think for this year, we're going to try something a little different. Which ever engine is still in the sheds in the morning and doesn't have anything to do for a while will be chosen to take the school train."

The engines looked on looking very interested, all except for Sir Handel.

When the Thin Controller left, Sir Handel started to complain, "why would the Thin Controller agree to do something like these school trains, it will only cause trouble with our timetables."

"Not enterily true Sir Handel," Rheneas said wisely, "Skarloey and I used to do school trains all the time in our younger days, and let me tell you that we never had any trouble when it came to keeping to time."

Sir Handel wasn't convinced and continued to complain about it.

The next morning, Duke was given the chance to pull the first school train. He pulled up to each station along the line where he picked up all the children, then he puffed along smoothly to the village.

"Well done Duke," called the coaches kindly, "it's always a pleasure to be going out with you."

Duke smiled as he continued on. He soon pulled up to the village, the children all got off and thanked Duke for the wonderful ride.

"We like riding with you more than that old bus," they said.

Duke blushed at the moment, "have a good day young ones, and remember not to cheat during your tests."

"We will!" they called happily and waved till Duke was out of sight.

Rusty was the next engine to take the passenger special the next morning, then Rheneas got to pull the train.

"It brings back many wonderful memories," he smiled happily.

Even Peter Sam had to agree as he took the fourth school train that week. The coaches liked running with him anyways, so there was no trouble at all, and like Duke, the children thanked him and said it was better to ride with him than the old school bus.

Even though the train didn't cause that much trouble, Sir Handel was still grumbling about it.

"It's silly," he huffed, "if the children want to ride on a train to the village, then they should board the first passenger train of the day."

"They can't," Duke said firmly, "the first passenger train starts before the sun rises, and the next one doesn't start until past nine. By that time, the children would be late for school."

"You wouldn't be complaining about the train if you were taking it," added Duncan.

"Rubbish," Sir Handel huffed, "I will not pull a train like that."

"And why not, it would be a nice change."

"I don't think so. Those children would bounce up and down in their seats, which will make the coaches cross and then they'll turn on me and make me come off the tracks - again," Sir Handel rolled his eyes and groaned as he remembered the incidents he had with the old coaches.

Try as the engines could, they couldn't get Sir Handel to change his mind about the school train.

The next morning, Sir Handel watched as the other engines went off to work, he was hoping to leave soon before the school train was to be called upon.

"I don't care if I have to pull trucks, just take me out before that train is called upon."

There was nothing that Sir Handel could do, all the other engines were called upon to take other trains. Before long, Sir Handel and Rusty were the only two engines in the shed as the sun rose that morning, but not for long.

"Oh good," he thought as he heard footsteps coming towards them, "I'm going to work on..."

His thoughts were interupted when he saw Mr. Hugh, the cheif engineer arrive to take Rusty out for track maintence jobs. Now Sir Handel was the only engine left in the sheds.

"Oh no," he groaned.

His crew soon arrived to get him ready, "are we taking coaches or trucks?" Sir Handel asked.

"Coaches of course," the Driver answered, "we're to take the school train today."

"No!" Sir Handel groaned, "I will not pull a school train!"

"Sorry Sir Handel," said the fireman, "but we have to take it. You are after all the last engine in the shed and you don't have anything to do till later."

Sir Handel grumbled to himself and pulled away from the sheds in a sluggish way.

He buffered up to the coaches as slowly and gently as he could.

"If I am to take children to their school today," Sir Handel grumbled, "the least I can do is make sure these coaches don't think I'm going to be rough with them."

Sir Handel continued to grumble as he pulled away with the coaches. As he pulled away from the carriage sheds, he could hear Duncan laughing as he passed with a goods train.

"Well, well, well," Duncan chuckled, "Sir Handel's finally pulling the school train, I never thought he would get the chance."

"Hey Duncan, shut up!" Sir Handel snapped.

Duncan just laughed as he ignored Sir Handel's raunts.

Sir Handel made sure to stop at all the stations along the way as smoothly as he could and make sure not to bump the coaches.

"It won't last forever," he thought to himself, "they'll soon start up with their tricks."

However, as he puffed along down the line, Sir Handel found that the children were causing no trouble whatsoever. They behaved quite well all the way, and the same went for all their friends who boarded the train later on.

The children were having a grand time riding with Sir Handel, the coaches were enjoying the run with him, and even Sir Handel himself started to enjoy the run.

When they arrived at the village, one of the school girls came up to see Sir Handel.

"Thank you for giving us a smooth run today," she said kindly, "I know my friends have all said this to your friends, but I have to say that you give one of the smoothest rides we've ever had. Thank you for bringing us to our school."

"You're welcome," Sir Handel smiled as he started to blush.

Then the school girl gave Sir Handel a small kiss on the right side of his face before she ran off to join her friends. Sir Handel was speechless and was still blushing when he went away to work.

Later that afternoon, the Thin Controller came up to speak with Sir Handel.

"I need you to collect the old coaches and take the children back to their stations," he said, "the afternoon passenger train is going to be running a little later today."

"You better send someone else," Duncan called cheekily, "Sir Handel doesn't..."

"I'll be more than happy to do the job sir," Sir Handel smiled.

Now it was Duncan who was at a loss of words as Sir Handel puffed off to collect the old coaches.

Sir Handel puffed along to the village nice and smoothly and soon had collected the children. Then he puffed nice and slowly to all the stations, and at each station Sir Handel called, "have a good evening!"

And the children replied "Thank you Sir Handel, you have a good evening too!"

This went on and on until all the children had been brought back to their proper stations.

That night, the Thin Controller came to the sheds to speak with Sir Handel again, "I've heard that you did very well with the school train today," he smiled, "you have done me proud."

"Even though you didn't want to take the train at first," Duncan chuckled.

"I did say that," Sir Handel said quietly, "but as I was pulling that train, I found out that I was wrong."

"I'm happy to hear that, Sir Handel," the Thin Controller smiled, "now I would like to ask you, until the school bus is repaired, how would you like to pull the school train?"

Sir Handel beamed with pride, "I would love to, sir!"

Skarloey smiled at Sir Handel, he was proud of the little blue engine. As for Duncan, he was cross because now he wasn't going to get his chance to pull the train, but not for long.

"Sir," Sir Handel called, "would it be okay if Duncan doubleheads the train with me on Monday, and Skarloey on Tuesday, I don't want them to be left out."

The Thin Controller smiled at Sir Handel, "of course it's okay, that would be fine." Then he headed off for home, leaving Duncan speechless.

"That's so kind of you Sir Handel," Skarloey said, "Thank you."

Sir Handel just continued to smile at that moment. And that night, Sir Handel dreamed about the next time he was to be in front of the school train.

**Author's Note:**

The school train story was inspired by BC Rail's own School train nicknamed 'The Budd Wiser'.


	49. Duck Crossing

_**Duck Crossing**_

One night in the sheds, the main line engines were teasing James about the time he had been covered in a flock of birds, "maybe you should retire from service and become a bird post," Henry teased.

"Oh shut up!" James snapped crossly, "I hate being reminded of that incident, especially by an engine who couldn't 'shoo' a cow off the line."

Henry quickly went quiet, but James wasn't finished yet.

"Or from an engine who puffed away with a trainload of cows without making sure the doors were closed," he said looking over to Gordon.

"Are you still going on about the problems you had with animals?" asked Duck sounding cross at being woken up, "those incidents could've happened to anyone."

"Anyone but you right?" James asked in a teasing way.

"It could happen to me and it did not too long ago."

"Alright then, please tell us then."

And so the engines went quiet as Duck began his story...

It was a sunny day on the Little Western branch line, Duck and Oliver were going back forth along the line with either passenger trains or goods trains. All went well, that was until the two engines met up at the station, Oliver wasn't looking too happy.

"Whatever is the matter Oliver?" Duck asked kindly.

"A bird flew in front of my face," Oliver grumbled crossly, "and I do mean 'close'."

"So close that it could've hurt Oliver's right eye," said the Driver, "it didn't stay for too long after we sounded the whistle at it."

"Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with animals," Oliver continued while grumbling, "they show no respect for us engines, and yet we show them plenty of respect - well, us branch line engines."

"Ah well Oliver," said Duck, "it could happen to the best of us, so I wouldn't worry too much about it."

At that moment, Duck's guard blew his whistle, "well, I better get going - remember to take care out there Oliver."

"I'll try," Oliver called then muttered, "I only wish those animals would do the same."

Duck and Oliver's branch line runs past a small pond where their old friend Dilly the Duck lives, but he is never alone as other ducks would come to this pond and quack at the engines at they went past. Some were friendly quacks, but others were not.

As Duck passed the duck pond, he heard a loud angry quack from one of the ducks, who standing too close to the tracks.

"Oh good glory," cried the Driver and sounded the whistle loud and long - at last the duck moved away, rather cross and still quacking at Duck.

"Silly duck," said the fireman as he looked the cab, "I don't think it has any common sense."

"I have to agree with you there," said the Driver, "Dilly would never do such a thing."

"I just wonder what that duck has aganist trains passing that pond."

But they didn't have alot of time to think about that, they still had lots of work to do.

After the passenger run, Duck left the coaches at the station and puffed off to collect some trucks. The trucks of course were up to their old tricks and being rather rude to Duck.

"_Duck should be playing with other ducks,_

_ cause he's no good at pulling..."_

Duck had heard quite enough of their singing and bumped the silly trucks hard, "behave yourselves and no nonsense this time!"

The trucks only giggled, "you better watch yourself Duck, cause we can push you off the rails like we did that night at the village station," they giggled in their silly way.

Duck shuddered at the thought of it. So instead of bumping the trucks, he carefully shunted them under the chute carefully, then shunted them carefully onto the train.

By the time he was done, Oliver had arrived and was looking crosser than before.

"I say Duck," he said, "on your way here, did you happen to meet up with a silly duck that quacked angerily at you."

"Yes I did," Duck answered, "I don't know why though."

"See this is what I was talking about before, animals don't know when to stop causing trouble for us engines."

"What about Dilly though, he swims quietly and peacefully in his pond and doesn't quack at us."

"I meant those _other_ ducks," Oliver grumbled crossly, "who said they could come to Dilly's pond anyways?"

Duck felt it best not to say anything just in case, so when his guard's whistle blew, Duck puffed away with his long train of trucks, while Oliver was left to grumble as he went to collect his coaches.

The journey seemed to be going well, the trucks were behaving themselves and Duck of course was running ahead of the timetable.

But that was going to change as he came up to the duck pond, he heard some wild quacks again and looked over towards the pond.

"Stop! Stop!" he shouted to his Driver.

His Driver quickly applied the brakes and Duck came to a screeching hault, which made the trucks go bump into each other, "oh, oh, oh, oh!" they cried, "what did you do that for?"

"There are ducks crossing my track!" Duck shouted.

His crew looked out of the cab and gasped, "Well I'll be," exclaimed the Driver, "this is something you don't see everyday."

"They look like they're trying to get away from the pond," said the fireman as he looked out the other side of the cab, "I wonder why."

"Don't know," said the Driver, "Ah well, we'll just have to wait till they got off our tracks."

But that was going to take a long time as there were lots of ducks, young and old w_addling_ across the line and trying to reach the other side.

"Come on!" shouted the trucks, "let's get going!"

"We can't," said Duck calmly, "not until these ducks have passed."

This went on and on and on, until at last the last duck had crossed the line. Once they had cleared the tracks, Duck's Driver opened the regulator and Duck puffed away as fast as his wheels would carry him.

By the time he arrived at the yards, he was five minutes late, so for the rest of the day, Duck had to work even faster and harder than before. It was by the late afternoon that he was finally caught up and could take a small break from trains.

When he and Oliver met up again, Oliver gave him a queer look.

"Okay you were right Oliver," Duck sighed unhappily, "there are times when animals can be nothing but trouble to the railway."

Oliver didn't say a single word, somehow it didn't seem very tactful in the slightest.

The sheds were quiet for a while, apart from James and Henry, who were trying their best not to laugh at Duck's little incident.

"So what caused those ducks to leave their pond?" Billy asked.

"Oliver and I found the answer later in the week when the stationmaster came up to us to explain what happened. He said that some crazy man was throwing rocks into the duck pond and telling them to leave and never return."

"How does he know that?" Gordon asked.

"Cause one of the passengers that had been waiting for Oliver said he saw the man do all that."

"Still though," James chuckled, "That's the first time I've ever heard of ducks crossing a railway track in front of a..."

And together, James and Henry shouted, "in front of a Duck."

They burst out into laughter until they saw the angry looks of Gordon and Edward, so they went silent.

A few days later, Duck was coming into the station when he saw the stationmaster waiting for him.

"That crazy man I told you about has been stopped," he told Duck and his crew, "we caught him as he was trying to 'shoo' the ducks away from their home again, this time around he was using something completely different..."

He then showed the crew what the man was going to use, it was a barrel like object.

"That man is crazy," gasped Duck's Driver as he looked at it.

"Yeah he is," said the Stationmaster, "but don't you worry yourselves anymore, he has been taken away and I've been told that he is going to be given the proper help he deserves."

"At least now the ducks won't have a reason to leave the pond," said Duck quietly.

Duck was quite right, the ducks could now swim in the pond with no worries anymore. Even the duck that had quacked at the two engines before finally settled down and quack a happy quack at them as they passed.

"No more angry quacks from them anymore," said Oliver when he and Duck met up again, "but I still say that some animals are troublesome."

Duck only sighed as his guard blew his whistle and his Driver opened the regulator, "Same old Oliver," he thought to himself as he puffed away with his passenger train.


	50. Tumblin' Chimneys

_**Tumblin' Chimneys**_

George is a steam roller, his main job is to flatten tarmac when road crews have layed it out. He maybe slow, but he always get the job done well - but sometimes he lets his job get to his head and that can make him a cranky steamroller, especially when it came to the engines.

Whenever one of the steam or diesel engines roll by, George would pull a vulgar face and shout out "railways are no good, turn them into roads." George has always had a thing aganist railways, he thinks roads are better, it's because of this that he once caused an accident while he and Sir Handel exchanged insults, then he caused trouble for Thomas and make him crash into a barn. Of course no engine can forget about the time when he blocked Duck's path into the yards and Gordon smashed one of his trucks.

Nobody really likes George and George likes nobody but himself.

One day, Miss Jenny and her machines were called upon to help demolish an old warehouse compound to make room for a new business due to come in soon. The machines used in the demolition were Oliver, now renamed Christopher, Ned the Steam shovel and Kelly the crane, while the other machines were used to clear the mess away.

George was working nearby, he was tarmacing a new road.

"Ah, this is the life," he said in his gruff voice, "tarmacing roads is a wonderful job."

"At least he's not complaining about the railways again," his Driver thought to himself.

George was close to finishing another strecth of the road when all of the sudden, Max and Monty, the twin dump trucks, came out of nowhere and dashed in front of him, "out of the way slowpoke!" Max called rudely.

"We are needed in a hurry!" added Monty.

George was not pleased to be called a slow poke, he was cross, "hurry yourselves!" he shouted rudely.

Max and Monty heard George and laughed as they raced into the compound.

"Stupid dump trucks," George grunted, "I'll teach them a lesson, I promise you that."

Little did anybody know that George's chance would come sooner than expected.

A few days later, it was time to take down the chimneys. The foreman had been inspecting the chimneys for some time now to see how they were going to take down the chimneys.

"It's very unstable," the foreman was saying to Miss Jenny, "with the slightest push it might down with no trouble."

"Then it's settled," she said, "we'll use Byron to take it down."

Her plan would have worked, had it been for George listening on her plans. He was thinking of a way to get back at Max and Monty.

Within a couple of hours, George had come with a devious plan. He asked his Driver to bring him over to where Max and Monty were.

"Well, well," chuckled Max, "if it isn't the world's slowest steamroller."

George laughed at this, Max and Monty were confused, "That's a good one lads," he chuckled, of course he was only faking, "You two can make up some great jokes."

"Thanks," said Max, "so, no hard feelings about what we said?"

"Nah, no harm done," said George, he then looked around to make sure that nobody was listening in, "I overheard Miss Jenny say that they're going to take down that chimney with that silly bulldozer."

"So?" asked Monty, "what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that they should use some real machines to take it down, maybe like a couple of dump trucks perhaps."

"Are you crazy?" Max shouted in shock, "we'd break ourselves if we ran into that chimney."

"Not if it's unstable," George chuckled quietly, "all you two need to do is push it down - I even heard Miss Jenny say that you could do it, but it's that foreman who needs convincing, what do you say?"

The two dump trucks were silent for a minute, then..."We'll do it," they said, even their drivers agreed to the idea, "we'll show that foreman that we can do the job better than Byron."

And they raced away to get refueled.

Once they were out of sight, an evil smirk came across George's face. He knew the dump trucks were often proud and had foolish prides, and now he used their foolish prides to his adventage.

"I'm so looking forward to this," he smirked as he was taken back to work.

A little later, Byron was brought over to the chimney, the foreman was explaining the plan to the bulldozer and his driver, "just give it one big push and it should come down all by itself."

"Will do sir," said the Driver.

He then climbed into the Byron's cab and turned on the engine, Byron soon roared into life and was ready for action. Unfortantly for him, so were George and the dump truck twins.

"Miss Jenny asked me to let you know when to charge at the chimney," George said to the twins, "so don't charge at it until I give the word."

"Thank you George," said Monty, George gave them a small smile, which could've been hiding a smirk.

Before long, all was ready - the foreman gave the signal, "Alright Byron, knock it down!"

Byron charged towards the chimney as fast as he could - soon, his blade hit the side of the chimney and he pushed with every ounce of his strength. The chimney leaned, but it didn't fall over.

"It's a lot tougher than it looks," said Byron.

"Alright then," said the foreman, "back him up and try again."

And that's what Byron's driver did, he backed Byron up for another go, but he wasn't going to get that chance.

"Alright boys," George called, "knock that chimney down!"

The dump trucks revved their engines and roared towards the chimney. The foreman saw them coming and ordered them to stop, but they wouldn't, "We'll show him, we'll show him," they said in unison.

As they got closer and closer, Max's Driver decided not to go through with the plan and slammed the brakes on - this was a big mistake. Monty's Driver couldn't apply the brakes fast enough. Monty bashed into Max's back end and pushed him - straight into the chimney.

"Ouch!" cried Max, "watch what you're doing idoit!"

"You should watch out!" shouted Monty.

Their arguing was cut off when they heard a loud rumble from above - it was the chimney, it was falling - towards them! Max and Monty's Drivers made a daring jump out of the cabs and ran for cover, all Max and Monty could do was shut their eyes and wait for the crash.

As the chimney fell, it broke into pieces which meant that only bricks were going to hit the dump trucks.

CRASH!

The noise was deafening, everyone stared in shock. Max and Monty were now buried underneath a huge pile of bricks and dust, their windows were broken, their paint had been scratched and they were in complete shock.

George was the only one snickering, "maybe now those two will know better than to tease me again." And still chuckling, he chugged away to complete his work.

Kelly and Ned went to work in clearing up the mess while Butch the Tow Truck came to tow the two dump trucks out of the mess they had made.

Miss Jenny was very cross at the two, "I am ashamed of you two," she said angerily, "first you nearly knock over the lightning tree, then you make Patrick fly off the road and now this, what am I going to do with you?"

"Why are you mad at us?" Monty asked sounding confused, "you wanted us to do this job."

"I did not, I wanted Byron to do the job, it's unsafe for other vehicles."

"But didn't you tell George to tell us that you wanted us to push the chimney down?" Max asked.

"No, I didn't know George was nearby. I never told him anything."

Both dump trucks gasped when they heard that, but soon the shock wore off in a few seconds and they were soon angry, "We've been tricked by that stupid steamroller," snapped Max.

"If I wasn't damaged," said Monty angerily, "I'd go after George and run him off the road."

"You will do no such thing," said Miss Jenny firmly, "I will deal with George myself, Butch and Nelson will take you back to the garage to be repaired."

She then walked away while Max and Monty were lifted onto the two flatbeds.

So I bet you're wondering what happened to George right? Well, he slipped away before anyone knew he was involved, but when he was found out, his owner gave him a good scolding before he went home.

But George wasn't ashamed for what he did, he was quite proud.

"I still can't believe they fell for it," he snickered to himself, "at least now those two will know better than to tease me, for if they do, I'll get them back," and he laughed himself to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

Max and Monty's accident with the chimney was based on a real life event where a farmer tried using a tractor to knock down a chimney, he pushed it one way but it wouldn't go down, so he pushed the other way - the chimney fell on top of the tractor, damaging it in the process. The farmer was able to walk away from the accident unharmed, when and where it happened is unknown.


	51. George Strikes Again

_**George Strikes Again**_

A few days later, George was taken off to work on a stretch of road that ran along the Narrow Gauge Railway. He was still laughing over what happened to Max and Monty, "those silly dump trucks got what was coming to them," he said proudly.

He soon came up to the level crossing, Sir Handel was coming by with a goods train.

"Oh no not you again," the dark blue engine grumbled.

"Yes it's me again," snickered George, "so you better take care little puffer, or I just might derail your train again."

Sir Handel puffed away from the crossing, needless to say, he didn't say a single word to George, he felt it was best not to.

"He's back?" Duncan and Peter Sam asked that night.

"I'm afraid so," Sir Handel answered happily.

"Who are they talking about?" Sakura asked. Skarloey told her and some of the other engines about Sir Handel's encounter with George and how the silly steamroller derailed his train - properly on purpose.

"One thing's for sure," Sir Handel puffed, "next time I see George, I'm not going to say anything."

"Maybe you should do that all the time," Duncan snickered, Sir Handel shot Duncan a dirty look.

Over the next few days, whenever one of the little engines saw George and the workmen working, they didn't whistle or say 'hello', they just puffed or rumbled away.

I'm sorry to say that not all the engines remained quiet around George...

Dan the diesel engine was rumbling along with a train load of trucks from the Wharf, he could see George up ahead. He was parked too close to the tracks, his Driver pulled on the cord and blasted the air horn.

"Oi! Steam roller! Move out of the way!" Dan shouted angerly.

George gasped when he heard the loud horn, then he felt himself moving and away from the tracks. At last, the source of the horn could be heard, George grunted as he saw Dan.

"That's all this toy railway needs is a red box on wheels."

"I'm tuscen red," Dan said fimly, "get your eyes checked you overgrown hand roller!"

With that said, Dan rumbled away, feeling quite pleased about putting George in his place. But as everyone knows, if someone upsets George, he will find a way to pay them out.

When Dan told the other engines about his encounter with George, they all looked at him with concerned looks.

"What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"You should've ignored George," said Sir Handel, "he's one roller you don't want to mess with."

"Many of the Fat Controller's engines will tell you the same thing," added Peter Sam, "it was because of George that Thomas crashed into a barn and it was because of George that Gordon destoryed one of Duck's trucks."

"Blimey," gasped Smudger, "this George character sounds like a nasty piece of work."

Now Sakura was worried, "please be careful out there Dan, if what the others are saying is true, then it's only a matter of time before George..."

"Don't you lot worry about me," said the big diesel, "I'm sure I can handle whatever that steam roller throws at me." But that wasn't going to be true at all.

At the crack of dawn the next morning, George was working with the workmen once again, he was hauling a very old tarmac machine. George and his Driver had been warned to be careful around the railroad crossing, but George saw a perfect chance to get back at Dan.

"I'll teach him to never say such things to me again," he thought to himself.

He soon put his plan into action, as he came to the level crossing, he jerked back and forth as if he was breaking up.

"Whoa, careful there George!" called his Driver, "the last thing we need is for you to spill some of the tarmac on the rails."

"Sorry sir," George said with a sly tone in his voice.

No one noticed that during George's jerking that some of the tarmac had spilled out of the machine and had landed on the tracks. George knew, but said nothing to the workmen.

The work was soon done and George was ready to go back to his garage, he was chuckling to himself.

"Too bad I won't get to see the show," he thought to himself, "oh well, I'm sure I'll find out about it later."

A little later, Bulgy the Mobile Fruit and Vegatable Stand was rumbling along down the road, when he suddenly felt a bump in the road.

"Oh my Bumpers," he gasped, "What was that?"

His Driver got out and looked back, "we seemed to have hit a speedbump on the road," he said, "but I didn't see a sign saying anything about one."

"Hold on a second," Bulgy was looking past the speedbump, "Tell me, where is that speedbump?"

"By the looks of it, it's...on the railway tracks!"

Before Bulgy could say anything, he heard the sound of a loud diesel horn coming towards the level crossing - and the speedbump that covered the line!

"Blow the horn!" Bulgy cried, "we have to warn that engine."

Back when Bulgy used to carry passengers, the thought of helping an engine would be the last thing he would ever do, but since he became a mobile fruit and vegatable stand, he became a well behaved vehicle.

Bulgy's driver raced back to the cab and sounded the horn as loud as he could.

Dan was coming down the tracks with a train load of trucks from the Wharf, he was making perfect time and was looking forward to rest at the sheds. As he neared the level crossing though, he could a loud bus horn blaring.

"I wonder what's going on," Dan said to his Driver, "I hope it's not another traffic jam."

"It's not another traffic jam Dan," said his Driver, "it's just Bulgy, he's blaring his horn at us."

"STOP! STOP!" they could hear Bulgy and his Driver shout, "The tracks are covered with tarmac!"

But by the time Dan and his Driver heard the warning, it was much too late. They had come to the crossing - Dan's wheels rolled over the tarmac, rolled onto the road, then the grass, slid down the embankment and splased into the canal below. Some of his trucks had followed him into the canal, while the others stayed on top of the embankment.

Bulgy was brought over to see what had happened, he and his Driver gasped at the sight, "Don't worry!" called Bulgy's Driver, "I'll call for help on my mobile phone!"

Help soon came, Smudger and Sakura brought the breakdown train over to the crossing while Rusty, who came up from the other direction, towed some of the trucks off the crossing.

The Thin Controller was also with them, "Are you alright Dan?"

"I think so sir," groaned the tuscen red diesel, "I can't understand how that happened."

"That's easy to see," said Smudger as he looked over to the level crossing, "there's tarmac all over the tracks."

"That's what we were trying to warn you about," said Bulgy's Driver to Dan's Driver, who was shaken but not hurt from the accident.

"George," Sakura whispered quietly, "this whole accident spells George, only he would spill tarmac on the tracks - on purpose."

The Thin Controller had overheard Sakura, "you're probably right there Sakura," he said, "so - where is that George?"

George was already back in his garage, the news of Dan's accident had finally reached him and now he was laughing about what happened, "it feels good to be me," he snickered quietly to himself.

Alfie and Jack had been called upon to tear apart the tarmac off the tracks while Dan was brought back up the embankment, it wasn't easy considering that he was a big diesel, even for a narrow gauge engine.

By the time Dan was finally back on the tracks, Jack and Alfie had finished their work, which meant now that Sakura and Smudger could take Dan to the works station.

Murdoch was waiting there with a flatbed in tow. At last the engines arrived.

"My my," gasped Murdoch, "what happened to you Dan?"

"George happened, that's what!" he said angerily, "it's thanks to him that I crashed off the tracks and into a stream."

Sakura explained everything to the big orange engine as Dan was lifted onto the flatbed. Then once Dan was on the flatbed and tied down, Murdoch puffed away for the works station.

"Come back soon Dan!" the two engines called in chrous and blew off their whistles for Dan as Murdoch puffed out of the Wharf.


	52. Diesel Helps Out

_**Diesel Helps Out**_

The news of Max and Monty's smashing into the towers and Dan's accident soon reached the engines of the Fat Controller's railway, they all felt sorry for them, but they were also mad. Which is why one morning, the engines were having an idignation meeting at the sheds.

"That George is going too far with his dangerous antics," grumbled Gordon, "if he ever comes across my path, I'll..."

"Get knocked off the rails," James interupted, "he did that once with Thomas and he made you crash into the tail end of Duck's good train."

"The bigger the engine, the harder the fall," Charlie said in agreement.

"I haven't forgotten," Gordon grunted, ignoring Charlie's comment.

"Let's face it," grumbled Henry, "nobody can stop George but his owner, the Thin Controller or the Fat Controller."

"It's not impossible," said Billy, "all you need is an engine who has an oversized ego like George, someone who isn't afraid to stand up to a tyrant..."

Just then, the engines heard some banging and clashing coming from the yards. It was Diesel, he was trying to shunt trucks into place, but as per usual, they were playing their silly tricks again.

"Hold back! Hold back!" they cried, "make him late! Make him late!"

"Oh no you don't," Diesel growled, "take this!"

He then biffed the trucks hard, they moved a short distance before stopping, "now, you behave yourselves or I'll bash you again!"

"Yes Diesel, we'll behave," they groaned miserably.

"I think we found the perfect engine," said Charlie.

"The only problem is...will Diesel help us," Gordon spoke up.

Duck was due to find out as he had to take some broken trucks from his branch line to the smelter's yard. Diesel was working outside the smelter's shed, he didn't look too happy to see Duck.

"Leave your trucks and go!" Diesel growled.

"Before I do, I need to talk to you," Duck then told Diesel about the most recent accidents caused by George, "George is getting too cocky right now, so he might try derailing any of us next, steam or diesel, it doesn't matter to him," Duck finished.

"Is that so? Well if that's the case, then maybe I should teach this steamroller a lesson he won't forget."

"It's up to you," Duck said as his fireman uncoupled him from the trucks. Duck then pushed them into the smelter's shed and puffed away. "I never thought I'd say this," Duck said, "but I sure hope Diesel _does_ teach George a lesson."

A week later, George was working in the yards, he was to make a new parking lot for the employee's cars and lorries, "What a waste of my time," George grumbled, "especially since the railways will be ripped up someday."

It was then that Diesel arrived in the yards with a train of trucks, he could see George up ahead. He oiled up to where Geroge was, as you can guess, George was blocking the line while his Driver was off getting a cup of coffee. Oliver the Western Engine was in the yards too, "looks like the showdown is about to begin," he whispered to Toad.

Diesel stopped with inches to spare from George's roller, he stared crossly at the steamroller.

"Hey you steamroller, get off my track!" Diesel snapped crossly.

"Sorry," George said with a snicker on his face, "but I'll do no such thing, I'm staying put and there's nothing you can do that will make me move."

"Duck wasn't lying," Diesel thought to himself, "this silly steamroller is too cocky, well I'll soon change that."

He then spoke sharply to George, "look here George! I need to use this track, so either you move out of the way or I'll move you myself!"

"You move me?" George broke into a giggle fit, "I'd like to see you try."

George was going to regret those words cause at that moment, Diesel charged at George, pushing him back a bit.

"Hey!" shouted George's Driver as he came running over, "what did you do that for? I was going to move him!"

George's Driver was soon back in the cab, but George had no intension of moving, so he stayed where he was, aganist his Driver's wishes, "come and get me you big tin can," George called rudely, "I'm not scared of you."

"Bad move there," Oliver whispered, he and Toad watched the showdown with interest.

"Oh you will be," roared Diesel, "once I bump you off the tracks!"

Diesel roared forwards and biffed George again, this time Diesel's Driver wasn't scolding him, he wanted Diesel to teach George a lesson.

"Come on George!" his Driver protested, "back up, let this engine threw!"

"Never!" George snapped and charged forwards, he rammed into Diesel's buffers, "you engines will soon learn that roads are better and that all of you are ready for the scrap heap!"

"I don't think so!" Diesel snapped back and bashed George's roller.

George charged again and started pushing back aganist Diesel. Diesel revved his engine, dug his wheels firmly into the sand and gave the biggest push he could ever give. It was now a duel of engines, George aganist Diesel.

"This is going to be close Mr. Oliver," Toad whispered.

"I don't think so Toad," Oliver whispered back, "I have a feeling that Diesel is going to win this duel, he is bigger and stronger than George after all."

Oliver was going to be proven right, Diesel was indeed stronger than George. George was going to learn that lesson the hard way.

He was being pushed back by Diesel, "no, no!" George cried, "I can't lose to a stupid railway engine!"

"Oh you will lose," Diesel growled, "I'll make sure of that!"

Diesel roared his engines even more and pushed George with all his might. George's Driver jumped from the cab while his steamroller was pushed off the tracks and rolled onto his side. George's Driver got a sprained angle, but he was alright, as for his steamroller on the other hand - he was in complete shock of what just happened.

The yard master called the Fat Controller, who arrived angerily. "Diesel! Why did you tip George over?" he boomed.

"I didn't mean to knock him over sir," Diesel said nervously, "I was only trying to push off the tracks."

"I tried to get George off the tracks," groaned George's Driver, "but my steamroller didn't obey my commands, he just charged at Diesel."

"So in other words," the Fat Controller said as he looked back over to Diesel, "you were only trying to defend yourself aganist George, am I right Diesel?"

"Almost sir," Diesel muttered quietly, "I was also trying to teach him that he is _not _the superior machine on Sodor. From what I heard, he derailed Dan and made those dump trucks smash into a chimney."

"I see," the Fat Controller turned away for a second, he stood in silence. Diesel was sure that the moment he turned around, he would be yelled at and scolded badly. The Fat Controller turned around a few minutes later, "Well Diesel, I'm going to let you off with a warning this time. I don't want you doing this again."

"Yes sir," said Diesel quietly.

"Now back to work Diesel, I will deal with George."

Diesel sighed quietly and rumbled away to shunt his trucks. Today, getting a warning from the Fat Controller was better than being scolded.

The Fat Controller over to George, "so it _was_ you that caused those accidents," he thundered angerily, "at least now I can tell Miss Jenny and Mister Percival that the engine responsible for those accidents has been caught."

"Oh no," George groaned, he didn't like the sound of that.

A few days later, Sir Handel and Sakura were puffing into the Wharf to collect slate trucks when they upon a wonderful sight, "Well, well, well," Sir Handel chuckled, "would you look at that."

George was sitting on a flatbed behind Hank, lacking his roller.

"Where is he going?" Sakura asked.

"He's going to Miss Jenny's garage," Hank answered, "he's going to used as a generator now, his owner sold him to Miss Jenny and replaced with a new diesel roller from America."

"Is this new roller nice?"

"I think she is, last I heard from George's owner, the diesel roller is quite friendly to everyone she meets."

"It's not fair," George groaned, "I still have lots of life left in me."

"At least now," Sir Handel said while still chuckling, "you'll be useful and stay out of trouble."

Even Smudger, who was shunting nearby had to agree, "and maybe when they're ready to put you back on the roads," he called over to George, "maybe then you'll be a well mannered engine."

George opened his mouth to speak, but he was drowned out by the sound of Hank's american whistle as he pulled away. Nobody heard George, and maybe it was a good thing they didn't, cause it didn't sound very polite.

Nowadays, George is often used as the generator at Miss Jenny's garage, he is miserable, but not the machines, "serves you right," said Max when they passed him one day.

"You shouldn't have tricked us," said Monty, "then you wouldn't be where you are."

They then rolled away, chuckling at their own wit, while George groaned quietly to himself.

As for Diesel, well - even though it was never said, the engines and their roadway friends all say quietly that Diesel did a good job. Though, they'll never mention it to Diesel, it might make him cocky.


	53. Hiro Helps Out

_**Hiro the Grand**_

The summer season was almost over, which meant that Hiro would soon be returning to his homeland soon. While he was happy to be going home, he was sad to be leaving the Sodor engines.

"We're going to miss you once you go Hiro," Molly said kindly one night in the sheds.

"And I'll miss all of you too," he said with a smile on his face.

Just then, the Fat Controller arrived, "Hiro, I would like to thank you for all your help during the summer season. For two years in a row, you have done fantastic work and you've done not only our railway proud, but yours too."

"Thank you sir," Hiro smiled, "it's been an honor to work for such a wonderful railway and to work alongside with such wonderful engines again," then he added, "and to work for a wonderful controller like you sir."

"Yes well," the Fat Controller was blushing when he heard that, he tried hiding his face, "thank you very much Hiro." Then he spoke to the rest of his engines, "a railtour will coming from the Mainland tomorrow. I want you engines to make the visiting engine welcome when it comes."

"Yes sir, of course sir," the engines said in chrous.

The Fat Controller then climbed back into his car and drove away, "I only hope the visiting engine won't cause trouble," he thought to himself, "We've had that happen several times in the past."

The following next morning, Gordon was being backed down on the express just as Morgan pulled up the stopping passenger train. Just then, they heard a loud horn in the distance, "that must be the railtour," said Gordon.

The two engines whistled to greet the visiting train. The visiting diesel responded with a blast of his horn, it sounded familar to Gordon, "Oh no," he groaned, "it can't be! Not him, anyone but him!"

Sure enough, leading the front of the train was a dark green diesel, the same that had come during the time of Stepney's visit.

"I see you're still in surface old timer," the diesel growled out loud, "I don't know why your controller doesn't send you steamers off for scrap and get more diesels."

"He likes to use steam engines for your information," Gordon boomed loudly.

"A complete waste if you ask me."

"Nobody was asking you!"

"I take it you know this engine Gordon?" Morgan asked.

The diesel looked to the other platform and noticed Morgan sitting close by, "another steam relic?" the diesel asked in surprise, but his face changed to show a sour look, "so where did they find you? In the scrap heap with the rest of the broken up steamers?"

"No," Morgan said firmly, "I was lost in a mine for many years..."

"You don't need to say anything Morgan," Gordon said firmly, "this engine is no friend of ours and is not welcomed to our railway."

"Whatever," the diesel sniffed, "I can't stay here all day talking to steaming kettles, I have to show the visitors around." With that said, the diesel rumbled away with the heavy coaches rattling behind him.

"Blowhard!" Gordon called angerily.

"That diesel hasn't improved since his last visit here," said Gordon's Driver, "in fact, he's gotten worse since then."

The diesel showed the visitors a lot of sights, all the while he was thinking how clever he was. It wasn't long before he arrived at a fueling station, 'Arry and Bert were there, they were also taking on fuel.

"At last," the diesel smiled, "real engines."

'Arry and Bert looked at each other in surprise, then they smiled at the new comer, "I take it you're not a fan of the steam show we got going on here on Sodor huh?" Bert asked.

"Definetly not, those steam engines should not be running with any kind of train, they should be in the scrap heap."

"We've been trying for years to get them," said 'Arry, "but the Fat Controller keeps stopping us everytime and we can never get to those steam kettles."

"He won't stop you for long once he sees how useful diesels are," the diesel sneered, "just wait and see."

'Arry and Bert cackled with laugther just as the diesel rumbled away with the railtour.

After a while, it was time to head off back to the mainland, the diesel was turned around and placed on the front of the railtour coaches again. He was still thinking about how useful he was, "I'll never understand why someone like Sir Topham Hatt would want to keep outdated pieces of scrap in surface."

"Steam engines do have their uses you know," said his Driver.

"Their only uses is to be melted down for scrap," the diesel growled as he started off.

The journey went quite well for the diesel, but that was soon to change. He started to feel sick, "I can't understand what's wrong with you now," groaned the driver, "everything seems fine."

Despite feeling sick, the diesel managed to continue on to Edward's station where they stopped for a break.

"We'll need a banker up the hill," the Driver told the stationmaster.

"The only engines in the yards are 'Arry and Bert," said the stationmaster, "Edward is away on other business."

"They'll have to do, we have to get these visitors back to the mainland before dark."

So after talking with the Drivers of the two shunters, 'Arry and Bert were coupled up to the front of the diesel, then once the guard's whistle blew, they set off for the hill.

"It'll be nice to see the mainland," said 'Arry, "especially if it means seeing nothing but diesels."

The three diesels started up the hill with all the strength they had, but the fifteen coach railtour train was proving to be heavy - even for the three diesels. At last though, they made it over the top and down the over side.

No sooner had they reached the bottom of the hill then there were three seperate muffled explosions and the train came a hault.

"What happened?" groaned the diesel.

The driver got down to inspect, he soon came back with grim news, "you air intake is blocked again," he groaned, "deja vu all over again."

The diesel was shocked. As for 'Arry and Bert, the reason they broke down was because their engines had overheated.

"I'll go back and phone for help," said the guard.

At Edward's station, Hiro had been stopped, he was taking a goods train to the end of the line for one of the Other Railway diesels to collect. Now he was waiting to find out why he had been stopped.

"It's 'Arry, Bert and the visiting diesel," said the stationmaster, "they're blocking the line," and he told Hiro's driver everything.

"And history repeats itself," giggled Bill and Ben, who were nearby in one of the sidings.

"We could always go help the diesels," said Hiro's driver, "but I don't know about the goods train we're taking, it can't be delayed."

"It doesn't have to be delayed," said Hiro, "we can take our goods train and the railtour altogether."

The crew weren't so sure, but they were willing to give it a try. So once they had the all clear, Hiro set off to the rescue. He had to travel on the second line in order to get to the front of the train.

"We're going to get you to the mainland," Hiro called to the diesels.

"Oh joy," the three diesels growled in unison.

Hiro was soon switched back to the first track and was coupled up to 'Arry. The guards went along the train making sure all the brakes were off and making sure all the coaches, diesels and trucks were coupled up properly.

"It'll be hard work Hiro," called his Driver, "but I know you can do it."

"I'll give it my best try," said Hiro with determination.

At last, they were ready. The guards blew their whistles, Hiro dug his wheels into the sand and gave a mighty heave. It was difficult at first, the diesels taunted and teased Hiro, but at last he managed to get the train moving again. The passengers and the crews cheered, while the three diesels remained silent throughout the trip.

It was hard work, but Hiro didn't give up.

"I can do it! I can do it!" he puffed and panted.

"That's it! Well done boy, you're doing it!" called his Driver, "keep it up!"

And that's just what Hiro did. He soon reached Vicarstown where he dropped off the goods train with minutes to spare. 'Arry and Bert were also taken off, they were disappointed.

Once coupled up again, Hiro puffed off for the bridge leading to the Other Railway. Hiro had a grand time, he loved watching all the scenery flash by and he loved seeing the young children wave as he passed.

"It's like old times," he smiled happily.

The diesel said nothing at all. The rest of the journey was a long one, but at last - Hiro reached the mainland station, just before dark. The passengers thanked Hiro and his crew and even took his picture.

"To think," said one of the photographers, "the main power on the point failed, then the legendary 'Master of the Railway' came along and towed not only our train, but his own too. I'm sure he has done his railroad proud."

The passengers cheered for him none stop until they had left the station. Then once 'Blowhard' had been shunted into a siding, Hiro was coupled to a goods train that was bound for Sodor, then he headed off.

Hiro returned to Sodor sometime after dark, but with minutes to spare for the goods train. His Driver and fireman told him how proud they were of him and promised him a new coat of paint once they were home.

A few days later, all the engines who could, came to see Hiro off. The Fat Controller told Hiro how proud he was of him, and told him that he will tell Hiro's controller of what he did. Donald and Douglas made everyone sing 'Auld Lang Syne', then they watched as Cranky lifted him off the tracks and onto the boat.

"Goodbye Hiro!" the engines called, "come again soon!"

"I will my friends," he called back, "and you're all welcome to visit my home too!"

Once loaded up, the ship left, but before it was gone from the harbour - the engines gave a whistle or horn salute to Hiro and the workers cheered to the echo until the ship had gone. When it passed Misty Island, the logging locos whistled to Hiro too!

"He really_ is _a Master of the Railway," Ferdinand said to Bash and Dash, "and quite a really useful engine too."

"That's right," Bash and Dash said in unison.

So, I bet you're wondering about the diesel right? Well - his air intake was soon cleared and he was sent back to work. Since that day though, the name 'Blowhard' has stuck with him. I'm sure he'll never forget this trip to Sodor ever, what do you think?

**Author's Note:**

This story was based on a real life event that occured on the Union Pacific. Three diesels pulling a train had stalled out on the main line, the UP 844, who was pulling a railtour train, was coupled up to the front of the train and then pulled the diesels, their train and it's own down the tracks. Where and when it happened is unknown.


	54. Ferdinand in Trouble

__**Hello there loyal readers, it's ThomasZoey3000 here with the latest season of my own Thomas stories. I forgot to mention before that Season 1 follows after season 13, and the second season follows along after Season 14. So this season follows along after Season 15, so yes the Dieselworks' diesels, Belle and Flynn will be seen in this third season.**

_**Ferdinand in Trouble**_

One cold winter's evening, Ferdinand the Climax engine was pulling into the shed in between Bash and Dash, "evening lads, how was your day?" Ferdinand asked.

"Busy and cold," said Bash, "we've been kept busy puffing up and down the line carrying those..."

"Trucks full of logs," Dash spoke up, "although, we nearly ran into trouble along..."

"That one part of the line that runs downwards towards the ocean," Bash continued, "we felt the rails..."

"Sinking a bit," Dash continued, "they should probably get some workmen out there and..."

"Fix that line," added Bash, "Driver said he's going to inform the Fat Controller..."

"Tonight," concluded Dash.

"That's good," smiled Ferdinand, "it's better to get that line fixed now before a disaster can occur."

Just then, the telephone inside the shed rang. Ferdinand's Driver went to answer it, then he climbed back into the cab, "Come on old boy, we need to go back to Sodor and collect the oil trucks, or else our operations will ground to a stop."

"Can't we go collect the oil?" Bash asked.

"Afraid not," answered Dash's Driver, "you and Dash don't have enough oil in your tanks to make it to Sodor. You'll only end up getting stuck in the tunnel again."

Bash and Dash gulped, they remembered the last time they were stuck in the Misty Island tunnel - they did not like that at all.

With that confirmed, Ferdinand puffed out of the sheds and onwards towards the Misty Island tunnel.

He was soon puffing threw the dark Misty Island tunnel - ever since the Fat Controller bought the Misty Island logging railroad, work had been made to make sure the tunnel would not cave in.

"A very fine job," smiled Ferdinand as he puffed on.

At last, Ferdinand puffed back out of the tunnel and came to a stop near the platform for the Search and Rescue Centre, just in time to see Sidney, one of the Dieselworks' diesels arrive.

"Hello there Sidney," called Ferdinand, "how are you doing my friend?"

"Just fine," yawned the diesel shunter, "I'm just tired."

Before the Dieselworks had been restored, Sidney was left alone on a siding inside the main sheds with his faulty engine. When the Dieselworks went up in flames, a worker drove Sidney out just in time. After that, Sidney was given a complete overhaul and now works like a new diesel shunter.

Sidney shunted the oil trucks into a siding and then went back to the Dieselworks, light engine. Ferdinand was about to go collect his trucks when a yard worker came over to speak to him and his crew.

"Before you go back to Misty Island, do you mind taking back those empty flatbeds?" he asked while pointing to a set of flatbeds waiting in a siding, "we need that track cleared, just to be on the safe side."

The Driver looked out to the flatbeds and then to the tankers Sidney left, "it'll mean having a long train, but I'm sure you can handle it old boy."

"Well if you're sure about this - I'll give it a try."

So once Ferdinand had been turned around on the turntable, he coupled up to the flatbeds first, and then he buffered up to the oil tankers.

Once everything was ready, Ferdinand puffed off for Misty Island with his long line of trucks rattling behind him.

Later on, at the logging station where Old Wheezy and Hee-Haw worked, some trucks were growing restless of sitting around and doing nothing, "I'm so bored," said one, "I don't like sitting around looking pretty."

"Then why don't we go?" suggested another truck, "it'll be easy for us since we're all loaded up with these rails and logs. So what do you lot say?"

The truck got no reply - mostly because the trucks were trying to roll away, but they found it most difficult what with their brakes on. I'm sorry to say though that those brakes weren't going to last very long, these trucks all had old rusty brakes and were on the verge of braking. After much tugging - the trucks finally broke them!

"On! On! On!" they giggled in their silly way. They rolled on down the hill towards the bridge past Old Wheezy.

"Stop you silly buggers," Old Wheezy wheezed, but the trucks didn't listen to Old Wheezy, they just rolled on past the small crane. It might've been better if they did listen to him.

Ferdinand was just coming up to the bridge with his train, "nice and slowly, nice and slowly," he puffed.

"Look Out!" a voice wheezed from up ahead.

Ferdinand's Driver and fireman looked out of the cab and noticed the runaway trucks heading towards them. They slammed on the brakes and jumped clear while Ferdinand shut his eyes. The trucks bashed into Ferdinand, derailing him, but the worst was yet to come. Ferdinand rolled on the ground, then he fall off the edge of the hillside and towards the water, while the trucks fell off the bridge and splashed into the water below. Luckily though, Ferdinand's tender coupling had snapped when he derailed, so his trucks rolled on until they stopped right on the bridge.

A few seconds later, there was a horrendous crashing sound with metal scraping on metal and wood splitting loudly. When the noise had dived down, the driver and fireman looked down to the water - they gasped.

"Are you seeing this?" asked the Driver.

"I'm seeing it, but I don't believe it," said the fireman.

Both the Driver and fireman could not believe what they were seeing - some of the trucks filled with rails were under the water, Ferdinand was set up on top of them, above the water, and some of the other trucks that were filled with logs were piled on top, almost like a sandwich.

"Ferdinand!" called the Driver, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," the Climax engine groaned quietly.

"I'll phone for help," said the fireman as he got out his mobile phone. He phoned down to the search and rescue and within thirty minutes, Belle arrived with Rocky in tow.

"Oh my goodness," gasped Belle, she also couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Don't worry Ferdinand, we'll have you out of there in no time," called Rocky.

The only way to bring Ferdinand back up to the hillside was to lift him and the truck he was on. It was hard work, but at last, Rocky had lifted Ferdinand and his truck back up to the hillside. The damage could seen - Ferdinand's cab was tilted forwards, his side panals had been smashed up pretty badly, and lower front half wasn't there at all.

Rocky lifted the damaged parts out of the water and placed them onto another flatbed, then Belle took Ferdinand to the steamworks while Rocky lifted the damaged trucks out of the water.

Victor could not believe the sight that came into the workshops, "oh my goodness," he gasped, "whatever happened to you Ferdinand?"

Ferdinand sadly explained about the accident to Victor and the Steamworks' manager, "do you think you'll be able to repair him Victor?" Belle asked.

"I don't know, the damage is pretty bad - we'll see what we can do though."

Belle was then instructed to shunt Ferdinand and the flatbeds into a siding, then she puffed off back to Misty Island to get Rocky, "oh I do hope they can fix Ferdinand," Belle thought to herself as she left.

Ferdinand himself was thinking the same thing.

Following the accident, the Dieselworks sent Sidney to work with Bash and Dash until Ferdinand came back. They did their best to keep up with the workloads and to help with the improvement work that needed to be done, especially along the line that lead downwards towards the ocean.

"How's Ferdinand doing?" the twins asked their crews everyday.

All they got though was "we don't know." The twins mourned for their friend, Ferdinand.

Then one morning as the twins were being brought out of their shed, they heard a whistle in the distance, then they saw a wonderful sight puffing towards their shed. It was Ferdinand, completely restored and with a brand new coat of paint, he looked like a brand new engine, he even felt like one too.

"How do you feel Ferdinand?" Bash asked, "we've been..."

"Worried sick about you," added Dash.

Ferdinand smiled at the twins, "well you don't need to worry anymore my young friends," he said, "the Steamworks were able to repair me as good as new. Although they had to give me a new cab because my old one was damaged badly in the accident."

"We're just happy to have you..." Bash began.

"Back again," added Dash, "are you ready to get back to..."

"Work?" Bash asked.

"I was built ready," Ferdinand said with a smile on his face. With that confirmed, the three engines left the shed and headed off to their work. As for the trucks involved in the accident, well - they were mended too, but ever since that night, they have not once pulled another 'escape' attempt. I guess that accident served them right, don't you think so?

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on a real life event of a climax engine and a runaway train that smashed into each other on a trestle over Harrison Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The engine and cars landed in about 35 feet of water, but somehow the engine and cars were sandwiched in three layers. Two cars of rails were under the water, then came the climax engine and four cars loaded with logs puled on top. Luckily, the engine was salvaged and was repaired and put back into operation.


	55. Emily and the Bad Coal

_**Emily and the Bad Coal**_

One evening, Emily was puffing along smoothly down the line with her two coaches, Alison and Madison, rolling behind her. She had had a good day and now she was having a good run towards the junction, she was hoping to beat Gordon before he arrived. Sure enough, Emily reached the junction three minutes before Gordon arrived.

"What took you so long?" Emily teased.

Gordon was at a loss of words while Emily giggled happily. Once her passengers had boarded Gordon's train, she puffed away as soon as the guard had blown his whistle.

Later that evening, she pulled into the branch line sheds feeling quite pleased with herself, "The Fat Controller's just told me how proud he is of me," she boasted, "I don't know what this branch line would do without me, it would probably fall behind in it's work."

"You're not the only engine on this branch line you know?" Thomas said firmly, "we all work hard too."

"Yes, but you lot don't work as hard as I do. I can make it to the junction long before Gordon or any of the main line engines can arrive, none of you can do that!"

"We can if we're running earlier," Percy sniffed crossly.

"I'd take care if I were you Emily," Toby said firmly, "too much puff will leave you out of puff."

"Pah," scoffed Emily, "I once pulled the express twice in one day and rescued Oliver once."

"I remember that too," said Thomas, "I was the engine who nearly crashed into him. Toby is right though, you should take care when you puff."

The other engines were only wasting their own puff, because Emily was not listening. She was thinking of what she would say when she had beaten Gordon to the junction again.

Over the next few days, the coaling plant was closed down due to a strike, so the Fat Controller ordered some coal from the Other Railway. The new coal was dusty and burned with thick black clouds of smoke. It made more ash too, and before long, the steam engines began to feel sick after using the coal.

One morning, Emily arrived at Ffarquhar station, her cheeks were going red and she was breathing heavily.

"You're late Emily!" called Bertie, "I thought you were faster than this!"

"Don't blame me," groaned Emily, "it's the coal I'm using, filthy rubbish!"

Emily's fireman went to uncouple the coaches, then Emily was onto a turntable to be turned around. Ever since Emily came to the branch line, the Fat Controller had requested for a couple of turntables to be installed on the branch line as it is dangerous for tender engines to go fast backwards.

Once she had been turned around, she was coupled up to the coaches again, "I don't feel so good," she moaned to her Driver, "why do we have to use this stuff?"

"It's all we've got right now," her Driver answered, "just do your best and we'll give you a good clean out tonight."

"I'll try," panted Emily.

The guard blew his whistle and Emily puffed slowly out of the station. She tried her best, but by the time she reached the junction, she was already five minutes late and Gordon was already there waiting for her.

"Where have you been slow gal?" Gordon chuckled.

"It's not funny," Emily panted, trying to catch what little breath she had, "it's this rotten coal."

Emily did her best to finish her jobs, then once she was back at the shed, her fireman cleaned as much ash as he could. When he was done, Emily felt much better.

The following next day, she wasn't feeling good at all. She felt worst than she did yesterday.

"Got to keep going, got to keep going," she panted.

She struggled on towards the junction where Niki was waiting with the express, but when she arrived, Emily could go no further.

"I can't breathe!" she moaned.

"Out of puff are you?" Percy asked from a nearby siding, "Don't say we didn't warn you!"

Emily shot Percy a dirty look, but didn't say a single word, she had no breath to do that. Percy was brought out of the siding, then after being coupled to Emily, he took her to one of the nearby sidings, then he took charge of the train.

While the Driver went to phone the Fat Controller about what happened, Emily's fireman cleared a large amount of ash out of Emily's firebox, but when he tried to close the door, he found that he couldn't.

"What's wrong?" asked Emily.

"Those hot ashes have bent your smokebox door," he said, "air is coming in, so you can't breathe through your fire."

"Ohh," Emily groaned quietly.

Her Driver then returned, "Daisy's on her way to come help take Emily back to the sheds."

"Oh no," Emily groaned again, "Daisy will never let me hear the end of this."

While they waited for Daisy to arrive, the fireman told the Driver of what the hot ashes did to Emily's firebox door, "not to worry," he said, "I think I know a way how we can cure that."

Daisy soon arrived and was coupled up to Emily, "poor Emily," she said cheekily, "what's the branch line to do without you?"

"Ha-ha," Emily laughed sarcastically while the fireman coupled her up to Daisy.

Once back at the sheds, the Driver went to get some old newspapers while the fireman went to get a bucket of water. When the Driver returned, they dunked the newspapers into the water and rolled it into long stripes.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

"We're making something called papier mache, when it's soaky enough, we will place it in your air leak so it'll help you breathe better. It won't last forever, but it will help get you to the steamworks, they'll repair your smokebox door there."

Emily groaned quietly, she was wondering what Thomas and the other engines would say.

After a while, the job was done, the fireman lit a new fire, then they took Emily away to the steamworks. Her Driver was right, Emily felt much better as she puffed along, the Driver and fireman were quite pleased with how well she steamed.

"We'll have to get the Fat Controller to make it permanent," said her fireman.

"Please don't," Emily groaned quietly.

"Don't worry Emily," chuckled her Driver, "we're only joking." Emily sighed in relief.

She soon arrived at the Sodor Steamworks, Victor was waiting at the enterance way, he had been informed of Emily's arrival.

"Hello Emily, I thought you were having trouble breathing threw your firebox, how did you get here?" he asked.

"Papier Mache," Emily muttered quietly.

Her crew explained everything to Victor and the manager, "well don't you worry Emily," said Victor, "we'll have you in good working order in no time."

Victor was right, the workmen did alot of work, starting with the firebox door, then they cleared away more ashes out of her firebox and even cleaned the inside of her funnel.

Soon, she was working like a brand new steam engine again.

"How do you feel old girl?" her Driver asked when he and the fireman returned.

"I feel much better. Thank you Victor and to the workmen too."

"You're very welcome Emily," Victor said kindly.

"Oh and Emily," the fireman spoke up, "you might be interested in knowing that the strike at the Coaling plant is over, and the Fat Controller has promised to get rid of all that rotten coal."

"Thank goodness," she sighed happily.

Once her fire had been lit, she puffed out of the steamworks with some cheerful toots of her whistle.

Emily puffed back to the sheds with no trouble at all, but her story had gotten there before she did. The other engines didn't say anything, but every now and then, they would make breathless puffing noises.

And this included Gordon, "now what were saying before about me taking so long?" he teased.

Emily said nothing, she thought the other engines had a very odd sense of humor.


	56. Sakura & the Old Coaches

_**Sakura & the Old Coaches**_

One evening, Sakura was talking with Skarloey and Rheneas in the sheds after a long day of work. Their conversation was cut off by the sounds of a grumbling engine coming towards their shed.

"Here comes Sir Handel," puffed Rheneas.

Sure enough, it was Sir Handel that came puffing into the sheds. He had had a bad day, "those cattle trucks should be scrapped," he said angerily.

"I won't have it," scolded Skarloey, "those old dears need kindess, not bad names."

"Quite right Skarloey," said Rheneas.

"What happened Sir Handel?" Sakura asked kindly.

"Need you ask?" Sir Handel snorted, "Anges, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima and Beatrice made me slip to a standstill twice - TWICE!" he fumed, "as a result, I was late getting back to the station. The Thin Controller says that they didn't, he thinks I was the 'awkward' one today, so now he's making me pull goods trains until he can trust me to behave myself again."

"You have to be careful when you take those old dears out Sir Handel," said Rheneas, "They don't like it when you bump them or call them rude names."

"I would never do such a thing," said Sakura, "I would show them great respect."

"That's good to know," said a familar voice. The engines looked to see the Thin Controller standing close by. He looked firmly over to Sir Handel, "if you have a problem with goods train, then I always leave you in the sheds for a few weeks, would you like that?"

"Ah no sir," Sir Handel said nervously, "I'll pull the goods train."

"Very well then," the Thin Controller, then he turned his attention back to Sakura, "tomorrow, I would like you to take the coaches out. Remember to be gentle and kind to them Sakura."

"Of course sir, I won't forget," said the small pink engine, "I promise I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," smiled the Thin Controller. He then got onto his bicycle and rode away while Sir Handel was shunted inside of the shed.

The next morning, Sakura was brought out of the sheds and taken off to the coach yards where the old coaches were waiting, "hello there dear coaches," Sakura said sweetly, "I'm to take you out today."

The coaches looked pleased, all except for Agnes, "have you ever pulled passenger trains?" she asked with a look of suspecion on her face.

"Only a couple of times," Sakura answered, "the last time I pulled a passenger train was before I came to this railway."

"Just be careful with us young engine," Agnes said firmly, "we're watching you! We're watching you!"

Sakura was taken aback by this, she was now starting to get worried, "What if I accidently biff the coaches?" she thought to herself, "will they make me slip to a standstill? Or will they bump me back?"

Before backing onto the coaches, Sakura took the time to calm herself down. So that when she backed onto them, she buffered up smoothly.

"How smooth," said Lucy.

"Be on your guard dears!" Agnes growled, "be on your guard!"

"Our guard has just come Agnes," giggled Beatrice.

Once the guard was on board, Sakura took the coaches gently over to the station. She braked to a smooth gentle stop, which impressed the coaches, except for Agnes.

"We're glad you're taking us out," said Jemima.

"Yes indeed," agreed Ruth, "what's your name young engine?"

"My name is Sakura." The coaches tried saying her name, but they had trouble. Sakura giggled, "I know my name is a little hard to say, there's an easy way to say it until you can say my name. Sa-Ku-Ra."

"This is quite boastful," Agnes thought to herself, "if she tries anything, then I'll show her that we do not approve of such behaviour."

The coaches were soon filled with passengers, the guard blew his whistle and Sakura puffed slowly and carefully out of the station.

The journey went quite well, Sakura stopped at all the right places and she gave a comfortable ride to the passengers and to the coaches. They were always on time, especially when meeting up with Henry at the junction.

After they left the junction, Sakura met up with Rusty and the works train.

"You'll have to puff slowly along the next section of track to the next station," Mr. Hugh advised, "some of the tracks up ahead are a little bumpy."

"Thanks for the warning," called Sakura's Driver.

And so, Sakura went slowly over the tracks, "easy does it," she puffed quietly to herself, "there's no need to rush." After that, the train was brought back to it's proper speed and soon made up for lost time.

"Thank you for not bumping us back there Sakura," called Jemima, "Sir Handel and Duncan usually rush along those bumpy sections."

"It's a pleasure to be taken out by you," added Lucy. Sakura blushed happily after hearing that.

All went smoothly, that was until the return journey. Once again, Sakura was puffing smoothly along with the coaches when they suddenly heard a loud booming whistle behind them.

"That sounds like Sir Handel," Sakura said to her crew, "I wonder why he's blowing his whistle."

"I don't know why he's blowing off his whistle like that," said her Driver, "But knowing him and his temper, he's not happy about taking a goods train."

Sakura's Driver was quite right, Sir Handel was not happy to be pulling a goods train, he wanted to take his boogie wheeled coaches. The reason he was blowing off his whistle was because he wanted to get this job over and done with quickly.

"Hurry it up Sakura!" he cried.

"I can't go any faster, not on this section of track!" she called back, "it's very bumpy!"

It was then that Sakura's Driver started to slow the train down - Sir Handel didn't hear Sakura perfectly, so he couldn't warn his crew. Sir Handel bumped into Agnes.

"Why those cheeky imps," she snorted, "they did this on purpose! I knew we couldn't trust her!"

"It wasn't Sakura's fault," cried Ruth, "it's Sir Handel's impatience..."

But it was no use, Agnes thought Sakura slowed down on purpose in order for Sir Handel to biff her for the previous day's standstills and now she wanted to teach Sakura a lesson. So without warning, Agnes bumped into the other coaches, which surged into Sakura.

"Wha..." Sakura exclaimed, "What's going on? Stop it!"

"Stop Agnes!" cried Beatrice, "or you'll cause a..."

Beatrice got no further - cause it was at that moment that Sakura came off the tracks. Sir Handel's Driver saw Sakura derail, he grabbed for the brake handle in hopes to stop the train, but it was no use - Sir Handel biffed into Agnes' buffers again.

"I knew we couldn't trust you Sakura!" Agnes shouted to the pink engine, "and as for you Sir Handel, we'll pay you back one day."

"There was no need to do that!" snapped Lucy, "Sakura wasn't doing anything wrong!"

But Agnes refused to listen to a single word. Sakura's Driver got out his mobile phone to get help. Help soon came behind Dan and the breakdown train, "deary me Sakura," he gasped, "what happened to you? You're usually careful."

"I wish I knew what happened," Sakura sighed sadly, "I was doing just fine and then the next thing I knew, I came off the tracks."

"Well don't worry, we'll soon have you back on the tracks in no time."

While the cranes went to work putting Sakura back on the tracks, the guard went along the train to see if any of the passengers were hurt. Thankfully none of them were hurt, but they were cross - at Agnes and Sir Handel, not Sakura.

Sakura was soon back on the rails, then she puffed on towards the next station. Sir Handel crept along behind, he didn't want to speed along now. Once past that section of track, Sakura started to pick up speed - hoping to make up for lost time.

She and the train arrived at junction for the Fat Controller's railway, just as Gordon arrived with the express.

After a long day, Sakura took the coaches back to the yards, the Thin Controller was waiting for them, "I heard you came off the tracks Sakura," he said, "it's not like you to be reckless."

"I know sir," Sakura sighed unhappily.

"It wasn't Sakura's fault," another voice called, it was Agnes, "it was mine enterily sir," and she explained about what happened, "don't blame Sakura for this mishap, I'm the one you should blame."

"I see..." said the Thin Controller, "well I want to thank you for owning up Agnes, but I have to ask you not to do that again, you do know that you could've hurt your passengers," Agnes looked ashamed, "I'm going to let you with a warning this time. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Sir Handel again. Oh and Sakura," he said before leaving, "keep up the good work."

"Thank you sir," she said.

"Sakura," Agnus said, "I'm sorry for biffing you today, I shouldn't have done that."

"That's okay Agnus."

"You did quite well my young friend, I'm looking forward to the next time you take us out."

"So am I," Sakura smiled as she shunted the coaches into the yards carefully and smoothly, then she whistled good night to them before puffing off to the sheds.

I bet you're wondering about Sir Handel right? Well, the Thin Controller punished him by leaving him in the sheds for three days. Since his talk with the Thin Controller, Sir Handel hasn't said a word since, maybe he has learned some sense - well, we can only hope, can't we?


	57. Mavis Helps Out

_**Mavis Helps Out**_

Ever since Thomas had gotten into trouble with a policeman all those years ago, the Fat Controller and the Quarry manager have made a rule saying that only engines with cowcatchers and sideplates can travel on the quarry tramway. For years, the only two engines that were allowed on that line were Toby the Tram Engine and Mavis the Quarry Diesel.

One morning though, Toby's crew came into the sheds only to find that Toby wasn't feeling well.

"It must be your tubes Toby," said his Driver, "something is probably clogging them. You'll have to go to the Steamworks to have them checked out and if they need to, they'll have to replace them."

"But who will help Mavis with the quarry work?"

"How about Flora?" Thomas suggested, "she's got cowcatchers and sideplates too."

"Thomas is only saying that because he doesn't want those cowcatchers and sideplates on him," said Percy cheekily.

Thomas shot Percy a dirty look. "Actually, that's not a bad idea Thomas," said Toby's Driver, "we'll phone the Fat Controller and see if Flora can be spared."

As luck would have it, Flora could be spared as there wasn't much work for her to do around Great Waterton. So once it was arranged, Flora was sent off to the Ffarquhar Branch line while Edward came to take Toby to the Steamworks.

Flora arrived at the sheds just as Edward and Toby were leaving, "get better soon Toby," Flora called to him.

"I will young Flora," Toby called back, "just be careful with the trucks, they can be cheeky and troublesome when loaded with stone."

After Toby and Edward had left the yards, Flora puffed over to the yards to collect some empty trucks, then she started on her way down the quarry tramway. She enjoyed the run there, she loved passing along through the countryside, "it's almost like the hills around Great Waterton," he thought happily to herself.

She wasn't going to be smiling for long though. Halfway down the tramway, they heard someone shout, "you're not allowed on this line! Stop in the name of the law!"

Flora's Driver applied the brakes and slowed Flora to a smooth stop.

Standing close by was a man with an old policeman's hat and uniform on. The man was the very policeman Thomas met all those years ago, he retired a few years back, but he still acts like he's an 'on-duty' policeman.

"But sir," Flora said kindly, "I'm a tram engine, I have cowcatchers and sideplates..."

"Don't talk back!" snapped the retired policeman, "I don't see any 'proper' cowcatchers or sideplates on you, so you can't be a tram engine like that brown tram."

"But I am a..."

"I said don't talk back!" snapped the retired policeman.

"With all due respect sir," said Flora's Driver, "Flora may look a little different, but she is a real steam tram."

"Sure she is," the retired policeman said with a suspicious look on his face. He walked up to the sideplates, "these should be black or grey, not red," he then walked up to the front, "and the cowcatchers should be leaning outwards. You are not an offical steam tram," he said rudely to Flora, "you are an imposter pretending to be a tram engine!"

"But...but..."

"No buts. Now, I'll let you go, but if I catch you on this line again, I will report you to the police department!"

With that said, he walked away, grumbling under his breath. Flora, feeling rather hurt, puffed slowly away towards the quarry, she wasn't smiling anymore. In fact, she wanted to cry.

When she arrived, she met up with Mavis, who was backing some trucks under a chute, "hello there Flora," she called, "my don't you look upset. What's the matter?"

"It's that policeman - he said I wasn't a real steam tram, he called me an imposter pretending to be a tram engine."

Flora told Mavis everything about what the retired policeman said.

Mavis scoffed, "Huh, I know that policeman, I often see him standing near the crossing where he had his argument with Thomas. He's always like that, truth be told when I first came here, he used to complain about me just because I was a diesel and not a steam tram, because of that, he thought I wasn't worthy of being on the tramway."

"What made him change his mind?"

"I think it has a lot to do with his sergeant, I think the policeman had quite a decision with his sergeant - ever since then, he hasn't complained about me once. My advice to you is to ignore him and just focus on the work we need to do."

After hearing that, Flora cheered up a bit and soon got to work along side with Mavis. The two engines worked like clockwork, loading all the trucks and then taking them along the quarry tramway to Ffarquhar where Rosie, Emily or Percy would be waiting to take the trucks away.

During their many trips to and from the quarry, neither engine saw the retired policeman, until they had to take a double header train up the line. All was going well until they heard... "stop in the name of the law!"

"Oh no," Flora groaned as they slowed to a stop, "it's him again."

Mavis was cross as they came to a stop, "what is the meaning of this? We can't be late getting to the yards!"

"Be quiet you!" snapped the retired policeman, "You're lucky to be working on this line - if I had it my way, I would have this unsafe line taken up!"

Mavis scowed quietly as the retired policeman walked over to Flora, "did I not make myself clear earlier?" he snapped at Flora's crew, "I did not want to see this _fake_ steam tram on this line. Now I'll have to report you."

"But..." Flora began.

A loud horn sounded, "Flora is not a _fake_ steam tram!" snapped Mavis, which made everyone stare at her with shocked looks, "she's a _real _steam tram! She's got the bell, the sideplates and most importantly, she has the cowcatchers!"

"They are not like yours or that other engine that works on..."

"You be quiet and listen for once!" Mavis snapped, "sure Flora's cowcatchers and sideplates are different from mine or Toby's, but they work the same way ours do! They help to prevent animals and people from getting hurt if they come onto our line," then she added furiously, "you can insult me all you want, but I will not allow you to bad mouth my friend Flora."

The retired policeman boiled over in fury while Flora smiled, "Thank you Mavis," she said quietly.

"Hello, hello, hello," called an 'official' policeman, he was coming by in his patrol car, "what's going on here then?"

The retired officer spoke up, "the yellow tin can is a fake tram engine and should not be on this line and that black box insulted me. I want you to report this to the cheif and tell him about these law breakers!"

"Sorry, but I won't be doing that."

"What?" the retired officer shirked, "why not?"

"Well for one, Flora the Yellow Steam Tram is not a fake, I know because I was one of the few people who found her for Sir Topham Hatt a few years back," he walked over to Flora with a small smile on his face, "and although she does look a little different from Toby, she works like any real steam tram would - therefore, she is a real steam tram."

The official officer went up to speak up to Mavis and her Driver. He returned a minute later, "and what about the black box up at the front?" asked the retired officer, "are you going to report her?"

The offical officer shook his head. "She was just defending a friend after hearing all your insults, defending others is not a crime."

"Excuse me officer," called Mavis' Driver, "we have to get going, otherwise we're going to be late. The Fat Controller won't be pleased if we are."

"You're not going anywhere, you are staying here!" snapped the retired officer.

"You can go now," said the 'official' officer, "sorry for the trouble."

"No problem at all sir," said Mavis. And on that happy note, the two engines continued on their way to Ffarquhar while the 'official' officer spoke to the retired man.

"Should I find out that you've caused another distrubance, then I'll take you down to the police station and my cheif can have a serious chat with you...again."

The retired officer said no more, he turned on his heel and walked off for home, grumbling under his breath as he went.

Once the two engines reached Ffarquhar, Flora thanked Mavis again for sticking up for her before puffing off for a good night's rest.

Toby's tubes had indeed been clogged up and needed replacing. He returned a few days later. Upon his return, Flora told him about what happened on the tramway a few days ago. When he reached the quarry later that day, he spoke to Mavis, "I heard from Flora that you shouted at the retired policeman," he said, "what happened to 'just ignore him and focus on your job'?"

"Oh well I know shouldn't have done that," said Mavis, "but I just didn't like the way he was talking to Flora."

"So I heard," Toby said gravely, "I couldn't believe what Flora told me. Still, it was a nice thing you did for her, you really have come a long way since you first arrived."

"Well I am learning from one of the best engines after all," Mavis smiled as she rumbled off to do her work.

"Yep, she's definetly come a long way." And his crew happily agreed with him.


	58. Trainspotting Troubles

_**Trainspotting Troubles**_

One evening, Molly was puffing along down the line with the last train of flour trucks before returning back to the sheds. As she puffed along, she spotted a red signal up ahead, her Driver pulled back on the brake handle and brought her and the train to a smooth stop. As they waited, Molly spotted something big and yellow working on the nearby road.

"Oh hello there," called the friendly voice, "you must be Molly, am I right?"

Molly was surprised, "ah...yes, my name is Molly, but how do you know my name?"

"Jack and the gang told me all about the engines on Sir Topham Hatt's railway. I must say that I'm pleased to meet such an amazing engine such as yourself."

"Well I'm pleased to meet you ah..."

"My name is Tina," said the diesel roller, "I'm the roller taking over from that steam roller, George I think his name was. From what I heard, he caused a great deal of trouble for Jack and the pack, as well as your railway and the Skarloey Railway."

"Oh he did cause trouble alright," said Molly, "but he was soon put in his place after his ordeal with Diesel, they took away his roller and made him into a generator behind Miss Jenny's shed."

"Oh so that's what happened to that steam roller, I've been wondering where he went and what happened."

At that moment, the signal changed to green, "come on old girl, time to go!" called her Driver. Molly said good bye to Tina, then puffed away with a cheerful blast of her whistle.

After getting back to the sheds, Molly told some of the other engines of the new diesel roller, "I've heard about the new diesel roller," said Duck, "last time I saw Jack, he told me about this new roller, he said she was more pleasant to work than George was and is friendlier too."

"Well she is a friendly roller," said Molly, "and she is a hard worker too from what I saw."

Their conversation was cut short by loud grumbling backing into the sheds, it was Gordon, "hello Gordon," said Niki, "Niki is wondering, why are you grumbling?"

"I'm grumbling because I had a near miss with some rail enthusiasts who wanted to take some pictures of the express and myself. Honestly, is a snap shot or a small film worth risking their own safety?"

"Well sometimes they're focusing so much on getting the picture or film that they probably don't know that they are close to danger," explained Edward.

"Well I wish they be more careful," grumbled Gordon, "That's the third set of trainspotters this week that I've had near misses with."

"All we can do is to keep our eyes on the rails ahead and be prepared to warn them if they are too close to the tracks."

"Niki agrees with what Edward says," said Niki. All the other engines agreed with Edward as well.

The following next morning, Molly was puffing off to the flour mill with a train load of empty trucks. As she puffed along, she spotted some rail enthusiasts watching her from a safe distance, they waved happily to her and she blew off a friendly 'peep-peep' on her whistle.

"At least they're playing it safe and watching us from a distance," Molly thought to herself.

She soon came up to another red signal, her Driver pulled on the brake handle gently, reduced steam and slowly brought Molly to a safe stop. As luck would have it, Molly saw Tina the new Diesel roller working close by.

"Hello again Molly, it's good to see you again!" called Tina.

"It's good to see you too Tina," Molly called back, "I see you've been hard at work since I met you last night."

"Indeed I have," smiled the diesel roller as she admired her work, "because of me, we're actually ahead of schedule, we might actually finish our work by noon tomorrow."

"A lot faster than George," said Molly's Driver as James rattled past with a passenger train. Once he was out of sight, the signal dropped and changed to green, "time to go old girl."

"Right," said Molly. As she started away, she called out to Tina, "keep up the good work Tina!"

"Thanks, same to you!" Tina called back before going back to her own work.

Molly soon arrived at the flour mill, she arranged her empty trucks into a siding to be loaded up, then she went to collect some full trucks. Once she had been coupled on, she puffed on her way back to the big station. On her way back to the big station, she spotted the same trainspotters from before, they still weren't too close to the tracks, but they were getting closer.

"It's still a safe distance from the tracks," Molly thought to herself, "so they're okay."

Shortly after Molly puffed away, the trainspotters crossed over the tracks until they were on the other side. As they started to set up their equipment, one of the road workers spoke to them.

"You realise that was a dangerous thing you just did," he said to the trainspotters, "don't you know that?"

"It's perfectly safe," said one of the trainspotters, "we know when not to cross the tracks, so don't be a worry ward."

The road worker shook his head, sighed and went back to work.

Less than twenty minutes later, the trainspotters heard a loud 'peep-peep' in the distance. It was Molly, she was puffing along with some more empty trucks rattling behind her, "we were enjoying a nice rest, that was until you came along," they grumbled.

Molly simply ignored them and carried on.

"This will be a wonderful shot," said one of the trainspotters, "seeing that yellow steam engine pass by with a goods train, what a shot this will be."

He moved forwards just a little bit till he was standing next to one of the rails on the other line. He was so focused on getting his shot that he hadn't noticed that BoCo was coming down that very line with a goods train.

Tina on the other hand did notice BoCo coming, she shouted, "yoohoo! Get away from the tracks! Yoohoo!"

The man looked back, he looked cross. He stepped back from the tracks and turned to face Tina, he was cross and wanted to give Tina a piece of his mind. It was a good thing he moved too, cause it was at that moment that BoCo flashed by, blasting his horn loudly, missing the man by mere inches.

"Hey, are you okay?" one of the man's friends asked.

"Ah...yeah..." that was all the man could say. He was in deep shock, he could not believe he had just escaped this near close call and it was all thanks to Tina shouting at him.

"Now you can't tell me that wasn't dangerous," said the same road worker from before.

"It was..." groaned the man, who took a few more steps back from the tracks. He turned to face Tina, "ah...thank you for warning me."

"No problem," Tina called back, "but I wouldn't have needed to warn you if you had been careful. You should've known that another train might pass by on the other line."

"You're lucky my roller here heard BoCo coming," said her Driver.

"Yes indeed," one of the man's friends said.

"I should've been more careful, I should've known better," the man groaned, he was still in shock.

Neither Molly or her crew knew of the near miss until later on when they met up with BoCo at the big station. The big diesel told Molly everything, "thank goodness for that diesel roller, otherwise who knows what could've happened."

"I know," Molly said gravely, "but I rather not think about it."

Following that incident, whenever any of the engines saw that same group of trainspotters, they would see them standing at a safe distance from the tracks, "it's better to be safe than sorry," said their leader, who has learned a very important lesson of railroad safety.

As for Tina, that following evening after the near miss, her owner came to speak to her, "I'm very proud of you dear roller," he said kindly to her, "not only because we're far ahead on the roadwork than we orginally thought, but I'm also proud of you for helping to save a life. I'm glad I bought you, now get some rest dear roller, we've got a busy day tomorrow."

"Yes sir," Tina smiled. And on that happy note, Tina went off to sleep, happy to be a really useful diesel roller on the Island of Sodor.

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on the real life event where a man was filming a steam engine and it's railtour passenger train that were puffing past a station. He was so focused on filming the railtour that he didn't notice an oncoming commuter train coming down the other line. Another person saw the train and warned the man just in time - the commuter train missed the man with inches to spare. This event occured on May 8th 2010 at Thurston.


	59. Flying Scotsman & the American Engines

_**Flying Scotsman and the American Engines**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

A railtour had come to the Island of Sodor behind a very famous engine - the former LNER A3 pacific steam engine, the Flying Scotsman. Flying Scotsman looked alot like Gordon, except that he was painted in light green and had two tenders behind him, one had the letters 'LNER' and the other had his numbers '4472'.

People came by the hundreds to see him flash by with the railtour, other engines whistled and tooted at him.

At last, Flying Scotsman reached the big station at Knapford. Gordon was there with the express, "hello Flying Scotsman, it's been a long time since we last spoke."

"Indeed it has," agreed the famous engine, "it feels great to be back on Sodor again, home of _real_ engines like your good self."

Gordon felt quite honored. It was then they heard a guard's whistle, "ah oh, I got to go - I can't be late with the express. I'll talk to you later brother," with that said, Gordon roared out of the station.

"It's just like old times," Flying Scotsman thought to himself, "back on the LNER," he closed his eyes, remembering all those glorious days.

His thoughts were interupted when he saw an orange tank engine shunt some coaches to platform Four. Flying Scotsman was about to introduce himself, he heard a whistle that sounded familar.

"It couldn't be..." he said out loud.

A few seconds later, Hank the American Engine puffed into the station with a passenger train, "well bless my bell," Hank gasped, "if it isn't Flying Scotsman."

"Hello Hank, it's been a long time since we last spoke."

"You two know each other?" Billy asked curiously.

"We sure do," said Hank, "I met Flying Scotsman all those years when he came to the states."

"I'll never forget my visit to the states, I met so many engines like the Dreyfus Hudson, the Commodore Vanderbilt and the Mercury."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten their names after all these years," Hank asked with a chuckle.

"Of course I haven't forgotten their names," Flying Scotsman smiled, "The Dreyfus Hudson's name was Chris, Vanderbilt was Ron and the Mercury was Rolf. I've never forgetten those engines or how I met them..."

It was Flying Scotsman's first day in America, he had been in the workshops having a brass bell, knuckle couplings and cowcatchers fitted on, now he was pounding the rails with each turn of the wheel. Why, his siderods looked like they weren't there at all.

"Looks like we drew quite a crowd," said his Driver.

Sure enough, there were lots of people lining up alongside the tracks to photograph the famous engine flash by.

As they came up to a bridge, they saw a banner which read 'Welcome to America Flying Scotsman'.

"No matter where you go," said his Driver, "you're a celebrity."

"Indeed he is," said an unfamilar voice. Flying Scotsman looked to his left and noticed a streamlined steam engine running along side him, "we've heard a great deal about you and your record breaking run," said the engine, "fantastic work there."

"Thank you," said Flying Scotsman, "where did you come from though? I didn't see you along the way."

The engine, which was the Dreyfus Hudson, chuckled, "I was coming out of the station when you flashed by. Name's Chris by the way, welcome to America."

The two engines puffed along side by side for quite some time, it was quite a sight to see.

"A Dreyfus Hudson and the Flying Scotsman running side by side," said one of the rail enthusiasts, otherwise known as Railfans, "you don't get to see something like this every day."

"What a sight," said another.

Eventually though, Chris had been diverted into a siding to allow a goods train, freight train as they known in America, to overtake him.

"I'll catch up with you later Scotsman!" he called. Flying Scotsman responded back with a blow of his whistle.

At the end of a long day of running on the rails, Flying Scotsman was taken off to a special shed to rest. He wasn't alone, there were four engines in the shed. One was Chris, the second was Hank the Pennsylvania Railroad's K4, the third was Rolf the Mercury and the last engine was Ron the Vanderbilt.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" asked Rolf, "or am I really seeing the legendary Flying Scotsman?"

"Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you - not this time," chuckled Chris, "This is indeed Flying Scotsman, the engine I was just telling you about."

Flying Scotsman was quite surprised, "how did you get here before I did?" he asked.

"You didn't see me?" he asked, "I overtook you while in the siding waiting for that freight to go by," he chuckled, "normally I'm not that good of a hider."

"Anyways, welcome to our shed Flying Scotsman," said Ron, "many call me Ronald, but I prefer Ron for short."

"I'm Rolf," said the Mercury engine.

"And my friends all call me Hank."

"Well I'm very pleased to meet you all," smiled Flying Scotsman.

It was then that the engines saw a diesel engine towing a steam engine past their yards. The engine had no siderods, it's paint was covered in rust and it's wheels squeaked.

"And there goes another one," groaned Ron.

"At least that one isn't going to the scrapyards," said Hank.

"Please don't mention that word," groaned Rolf, "I nearly ended up in one of those places in case you've forgotten - I was nearly scared out of my frames."

"We all were at one point," Chris pointed out.

"Sorry Rolf," Hank apologized, he then spoke to Flying Scotsman, "are you the only engine of your class still around?"

"No, my brother Gordon the Big Engine is still in service on the North Western Railway. I hear his Controller prefers steam traction over diesel."

"Sounds wonderful," smiled Chris.

"It sounds like a dream come true," agreed Rolf, "I hope we can visit that railway someday."

"Oh I'm sure we will," smiled Ron.

For the rest of the night, the four american engines listened in to some of Flying Scotsman's stories, which also included the story of his famous high speed record run, then they told him some of their stories, which included how they were saved from scrap.

"We would've been scrapped had it not been for that diesel," Chris pointed out, "he rescued us and brought us here for this line. As a thank you, we named him Jimmy."

"That's good," smiled Flying Scotsman, "all engines ought to have names."

"Well said," agreed Hank.

The next day was a special treat, Flying Scotsman was to run alongside with a special triple header with Chris, Rolf and Ron. Hank sadly was not in operation at the time, so he couldn't help with the train. Railfans came to the yards to take pictures and use something Flying Scotsman's Driver called 'Video Cameras'.

"They are like normal picture cameras," he said, "but these take moving pictures so that whoever took it can watch this moment again later on their television sets."

Then at Ten O'Clock, the specials were ready to go. Flying Scotsman started out of the station first with his railtour coaches rattling behind him, then a minute later, the special triple header puffed out of the station and rolled along the double tracked main line. When they caught up, the three engines overtook Flying Scotsman - then a minute later, he overtook them and this went on for quite a while.

And of course during their little 'race' as Chris called it, all four engines blew their whistles loud and long - you could hear them for miles.

"...my driver thought he was going to be deaf for weeks," chuckled Flying Scotsman.

"So who won the race?" Billy asked curiously.

"All four of us won, both of our trains arrived at the next station at the same time."

"I'm only sorry I couldn't join you four that day," said Hank, "but I was in bad shape at that time."

"It's quite alright Hank," smiled the famous engine, "still I would like to know, how are those three engines doing?"

"Well the last time I saw them, they were doing quite well either hauling freight or passengers along that line. I also remember hearing them say that they missed you, they're hoping to see you come back someday."

"Oh I'm sure I will," it was then that the engines heard a guard's whistle.

"Oh that's my guard, I must go, I can't keep the passengers waiting. Talk to you later buddy!" he called to Flying Scotsman as he pulled away from the station.

"Talk to you later good buddy," smiled Flying Scotsman as the last coach of Hank's train pulled out of the station.

**Author's Note:**

This story had been inspired by the engine races N&W 1218 and 611 had in the 1980's during one of the Norfolk Southern Steam fan-trips. The triple-header special was inspired by the triple header special run with Soo Line's 1003, 2719 and Northern Pacific 328 at Osceola, Wisconsin's 'Steamfest in the Valley'.


	60. Smashing Through!

_**Smashing Through!**_

_**Thanks to D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

After working throughout the entire day, Billy backed into the sheds for a rest. When he arrived, he found Flying Scotsman in one of the other berths, standing next to Gordon and having a friendly chat with his brother.

"Hello there young engine," Flying Scotsman said with a smile, "did you have a good day at work?"

"Yes I did, although it was very tiring work - it makes me wish I was working on a Branch line."

Flying Scotsman chuckled quietly when he heard that.

"Flying Scotsman," Niki spoke up, "those three engines you were just talking about, are they sole survivers of their class?"

"Sadly yes, other engines of their class were all scrapped back in the 1950's. Those three were fortunate to survive, from what they told me, they were rescued by a diesel engine that didn't have a name at first."

"How did that diesel save those three engines?" James asked.

"Well, one night, he slipped into the scrap yards and coupled up to all three engines, then he took them away to a preservation line far from that scrap yard. Of course he and his crew did get into trouble from their manager, but the preservation line's manager and the three engines were so pleased with him that as a reward, they bought him and gave him the name 'Jimmy'."

"That was kind of them," said Edward, "all engines ought to have names."

"Right you are there Edward," said Flying Scotsman, "that's why they named several engines on their preservation line. Such engines like a six wheeled shunter named Davis, he was a little clumsy, but he was a loyal hard worker. Matt was the next shunter, he was a loyal hard worker and always did his best to get the job done. Then there's Xander, he's a rather big fella, according to the others, he's known as a Challenger engine from the Union Pacific, one of three to still be around."

"How big was Xander?" Henry asked.

"Xander was quite big, he's a lot longer than any of us, why I say he is bigger than Murdoch." The engines gasped when he heard that, "The challenger's are known as articulated engines, meaning that they have two sets of driving wheels instead of one set like us. Although, Xander wasn't as big as his cousin, Brutaris - he's part of a class of engines known as 'The Big Boys'. Challengers like Xander had six driving wheels per wheel set, while the Big Boys had eight driving wheels per wheel set."

"Now that's a big engine," said James, "was Brutaris running at the time?"

"Sadly not, like Hank, he was out of service - from what I was told, he had been out of service since his retirement. However, I did get the chance to talk to him, he was quite a friendly engine and quite intelligent too. Besides the engines, their brake vans, or cabooses as they call them, had names too. Eon was a caboose that worked along with Brutaris, sadly it was in a very bad state at the time. Rika though, was in perfect shape and was often seen working with Xander when he took out goods trains. All of them were friendly engines - though I can't say the same for one of the engines that passed their line on the main line."

"What do you mean?" Niki asked.

"Well..." and Flying Scotsman began to tell his story.

The preservation line ran alongside the main line, so more often than enough, the preserved engines often met up with the diesels on the main line, some were friendly and others...not so much. One of those engines was in charge of a train nicknamed 'The Silver Streak'. It was called 'The Silver Streak' because when it was in motion, it actually look like a silver streak that flashed by.

The diesel often spoke rudely to any of the preserved engines, especially 'the Ghost of the Rails' trio, as Chris, Rolf and Ron were known as.

"Stupid smokey kettles," he said while snarling at the engines, "You should've been scrapped, and you would've been had it not been for that traitor."

"Jimmy is no traitor," snapped Matt, "he's a hero by saving Chris, Rolf and Ron!"

"A complete waste if you ask me, steam engines should be melted down for real uses!"

"You don't think running a preservation line is a real use?" Davis asked.

"Not at all," the diesel scoffed, "running along on a trackbed that should've been ripped up is a complete waste, the only lines worth using are the main lines that many modern diesel engines like myself run on."

"That's quite enough," said Chris firmly, "now you get going, you don't want to upset your passengers."

"Fine I'll go - just know that one of these days, your line will be closed down and you lot will be scrap." With a blow of his horn, the diesel and the Silver Streak rumbled away from the platform.

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that Blowhorn!" snapped Matt, "let's see you say that after your next trip to the scrap yards!"

The diesel just chuckled until he was out of sight.

"Just ignore that Blowhorn," said Chris, "he'll soon get what's coming to him, you'll see."

And Chris was right, as proven a couple of days later. Matt was given the chance to pull a railtour along the main line to a big station, just an hour away from the preservation line. He pulled into the station and stopped within inches of the bumper beam.

"Well done Matt, you did good," his Driver said proudly.

Before Matt had a chance to reply back, the stationmaster came up in a frantic hurry, "you might want to move your train away from this platform," he said urgently, "there's a runaway on the main line heading this way!"

"How much time do we have before the train arrives?" asked Matt's Driver.

"You've got less than four minutes, you'll have to be quick!"

"Are the passengers off?" Matt asked.

"Almost all of them are," said the Driver, then he looked down to the stationmaster, "tell the passengers that haven't gotten off to stay on board, then we'll back out."

The Stationmaster didn't need to be told twice, he ran to the coaches and told the passengers to stay on board.

"Why?" a few of them asked.

"No time to explain," shouted the stationmaster, "just stay on board the coaches!"

When he warned all the passengers, he waved to the Driver, who opened the reserver and blew the whistle to warn others that Matt was backing up.

"Be careful Matt!" called Flying Scotsman, who was at one of the other platforms.

Matt was slow to start, but within less than a minute, he was out of the station. That's when he heard frantic cries, not too far away from the station. It was the runaway 'Silver Streak'.

Matt's Driver blew the whistle three times, "flip the switches! Flip the switches!" shouted Matt loudly.

The nearby singalman heard Matt and quickly changed the points, just as the Silver Streak appeared. Matt had to move as quickly as he could - for a moment, it looked like there was going to be a rear end collision, but thankfully had gotten out of the way and the signalman had changed the points again.

"Whew!" gasped Matt's Driver, "we're safe!"

"But not the Silver Streak!" cried the fireman.

He was right, the Silver Streak ran onto the same track Matt had been on before and heading straight for the bumping post.

"I want to stop!" Blowhorn cried, but it didn't stop. It's brake system had failed, it's Driver had tried to stop the train using the emergency brakes on the coaches, but it proved useless as Blowhorn proved too strong. So in a desperate attempt to save the passengers, the Driver and several passengers had uncoupled the coaches, which were still running a bit of a distance away but were now slowing down.

Inside the station, people were running to get away from the platforms.

"This ain't going to be good," said Matt.

And he was right. Blowhorn shut his eyes tight - he bashed through the bumping post, smashed threw a wall, threw a gift shop and rolled on through the concrete floor for a short distance before finally coming to a stop. Nobody had been hurt, but the damage was done to the station and to Blowhorn. It's windows had been smashed to pieces, his paintwork was scratched and it's bodywork had scraped badly.

The passenger coaches of the Silver Streak stopped before the damaged bumping post.

"We made it! We're safe!" cried the passengers.

There was silence in the station before Matt finally spoke up, "you don't see something like that everyday," he said, "that was kinda scary when you think about."

Flying Scotsman quietly agreed.

"...following the accident," Flying Scotsman continued, "there were rumours going around that Blowhorn was going to be scrapped, that was until his manager had sent him to be repaired. The next time we saw him, he wasn't being rude to me or any of the other engines of the line, he hardly said a single word and that went on until I left to visit other lines in America."

"Sounds like the accident served the diesel right," said James.

"It usually does," Henry added quietly, "We've seen it happen in the past."

"And what of the station?" Billy asked, "was it repaired too?"

"Yes it was," Flying Scotsman answered, "it took a lot of work, but it was repaired in a matter of weeks. Although, from that point onwards, Blowhorn always askes his Driver to check his brakes before leaving to pick up the Silver Streak, just to be on the safe side."


	61. From Enemies to Friends

_**From Enemies to Friends**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales and Turdy1 for the Idea**_

Flying Scotsman proved to be quite an attraction as many rail enthusiasts came to Sodor to see him thunder along on the tracks. Some came to see him alone while others, like those on Flying Scotsman's railtour train, came to see him and to see the other steamers of the Fat Controller's railway.

One evening, Hank was being backed into the sheds of Knapford, it's only one of a few sheds that are big enough for big engines like him and Murdoch. As he pulled in, he heard the other engines talking about the rail enthusiasts.

"I haven't seen so many of them in ages," said Murdoch, "everywhere I went today, I saw huges crowds of them taking pictures of me."

"Same here," agreed Arthur, "they even came to the fishing village just to see me and take my photograph."

"Scruff and I had some rail enthusiasts come to our yards too," said Whiff, "we had our photographs taken from so many directions that we didn't know which way to look."

"We also got the chance to speak with Flying Scotsman," added Scruff, "he's quite a friendly engine."

"Indeed he is," agreed Hank, "I actually said the same thing when he came to America - now that I think about it, all the engines of the preservation line said the same thing when he came."

"How many engines were on your old line Hank?" Harvey asked.

"Quite a few, from the rare Big Boys and Challengers, to smaller switchers who took small trains along the main line and then there were other big engines like the 'Ghost of the Rails' trio from the New York Central or NYC as we called it for short."

"Hold on a second here," said Murdoch, "you said at one time that the Pennsylvania and the New York Central were bitter rivals."

"Ah I'm glad to see you remember when I said that," chuckled Hank, "you are indeed right Murdoch, my line and the New York Central were bitter rivals until they merged into one railroad known as Penn Central, which I'm sorry to tell ya that it didn't last forever."

"Then how you get along with those NYC engines?" Scruff asked.

"Well Scruff, I'll be glad to tell you," and this is the story Hank told.

Hank's story begins at a big station in Chicago where the New York Central and the Pennsylvania, along with several other railroads often met to exchange passenegers. At the time, steam was becoming a rare sight on any railroad - although the Pennsy, as people called it, was still using their steam engines, including those who helped in the war.

As Hank pulled into the big station, he met one of the new diesels on the NYC.

"Why is a steam kettle on the front of that train?" it snarled, "I guess your railroad doesn't know when to move with the times, no surprise really from you Pennsy losers."

Hank was shocked by such horrible words. Another Pennsy engine named Penny, another K4 like Hank, heard the words and was very angry, "at least our railroad isn't losing costumers like you horrible lot!" she snarled angerily, "it's no surprise if your railroad goes bankrupt."

"Pah!" snarled the NYC diesel, "you keep saying you Pennsy lot, but soon enough, you steaming kettles and your railroad will go backrupt and _we_ at the NYC will still around to say 'We told You So!' " a whistle could be heard, the high ball singal was given and the big diesel with it's passenger train left the station, still chuckling over his own wit.

"Those NYC engines," snarled Penny, "from steam to diesel, they're all the same - just a bunch of stuck ups!"

Even Hank was quick to agree with Penny. Even back to when steam engines were on the NYC, according to his own thoughts, they were always being stuck-ups, thinking they were better than anyone else. This naturally wasn't true because there were some engines who didn't think that way - they always believed that their line, along with the others, were equally good, but because of the rivalry aganist the Pennsylvania railroad, they hardly said a single word aganist the 'stuck-up' engines. In fact, they were silent everytime they were seen.

Once Hank had heard the whistle and given the 'high-ball' singal, he puffed away with his coaches.

"Remember Hank, they're all a bunch of stuck-ups!" called Penny.

Years went by and everything on the Pennsylvania changed, some lines were closed down and more diesels came to the railroad, which meant the steam engines were on their way to their final stop - the dreaded smelter's yard! Some were saved by preservation lines, others were saved by museums and others were not so lucky as they met the dreaded gas axe or scrapper's cutting torch as some call it.

Hank was one of the last few engines to be scrapped, he sat alone in a siding of broken down engines.

"Is anyone there?" Hank called weakily, but there was no reply. Penny was a few tracks away, but she wasn't going to reply back because she too had been destoryed by the gas axe.

"I was hoping never to come here," groaned Hank, "it's a terrible place - even if I was to be placed in a museum, that would be fine, as long as I'm not here," he sighed unhappily, "I know that's just wishful thinking on my part."

Just then he heard the sounds of pistons pumping, it was coming over towards him.

"Is it...could it be...a steam engine?" Hank asked in surprise.

He looked for the source of the sounds, but could only see scrapped engines. Then, he saw smoke raising over the pile of scrap - it seemed to be getting closer to him. A minute or so later, the source of the sounds came into view - it was a Dreyfus Hudson. Have you guessed who it is? Yes you're right, it's Chris!

"Well I don't believe it," said Chris, "a Pennsy K4, what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" Hank asked weakily, "I'm going to be cut up. I assume that you will be too."

"No I'm not here to be broken up, I came by to drop off scrap metal from my line."

"You mean the NYC?"

"Nope, I work on a preservation line along with several other steamers, you should really see it...in fact," Chris went on, "why don't I take you there to see it?"

"And then what? You're going to bring me back here to be broken up?"

Hank knew this was a NYC steam engine and thought for sure it was going to leave him behind, after boasting that he lasted longer than Hank did, but he was going to be proven wrong.

"My dear engine, I would never do such a thing, I'm not like one of those stuck-up engines from my old line and neither are my friends Ron and Rolf, we want to help preserve many magnificent locomotives, like you for example."

There was silence for less than a minute, that was until Hank said, "well what are you waiting for bud? Get me out of here!"

"You got it!" cheered Chris as he went to work.

Chris had to haul away tonnes of broken frames, boilers and trucks (freight cars) full of scrap metal out of the way before he could finally get to Hank. At last though, they were coupled up and ready to leave. By now, it was night, the only lights that could be seen were in the smelter's shed and from a small office, so this was the perfect chance to make their escape.

Before leaving though, they covered Hank with a tarpaulin and arranged him into the train of empties.

Once Chris had a good head of steam, they were off. At first it went well - that was until an employee of the smelter's yard saw Hank's wheels with the broken siderods.

"Hey, these guys are stealing an engine! They're stealing an engine!"

"Oh blast!" groaned Chris, "we've been found out! But I'm not going to let them take this Pennsylvania engine, so let's the heck out of here!"

His Driver and fireman didn't need telling twice, more coal was added into the fire and the Driver opened the reserver even more. Chris sped up as fast as his wheels could carry him. The smelter's yard employees all shouted at him and even tried to stop them at the enterance way, but they backed off when Chris flew by.

"We did it! We did it!" cried Chris, "you can relax now! We got you away from the smelter's yard!"

"Oh thank you very much...ah..."

"My friends all call me Chris and you can too. So what's your name bud?"

"The name is Hank." As they rolled along the line, the two engines began talking and before long, the two became good friends.

Chris and Hank soon arrived on the preservation line, but the news of the K4 escaping had gotten to their line before they did. The scrap yard dealer was talking to their controller about a stolen engine..

"You bring it back at once!" snapped the scrap yard dealer over the phone, "it's suppose to be broken up next!"

"Oh no it's not," said the Preservation line's controller, "that K4 now belongs to us, I will mail you the cheque first thing tonight." And he told the scrap yard dealer how much he was willing to pay for Hank.

"Very well, you can have it, but next time you want an engine from my yards, I suggest paying for it first before taking it."

"Alright you got a deal."

And so, Hank remained on the line for a long time and soon became friends with Ron and Rolf, all four became the best friends and would often talk about their old lines, the Pennsylvania and the New York Central.

"I am in forever debt to Chris," Hank said as he concluded his story, "I would be scrap metal had it not been for him. He also proved to me that not all the NYC engines were 'stuck-ups' as we Pennsy engines orginally thought, it just goes to show you that you can't judge every engine because of the attitude or habits of some engines."

"It's an important lesson for every one to remember, not just engines," said Harvey.

The other engines all agreed to that.

"I often think about those engines," said Hank, "And wonder how they are doing. Knowing them, I'm sure they're making their controller proud just like we are. Now I say we sleep, we've all got a busy day tomorrow."

"Not to mention we'll be seeing more rail enthusiasts," added Scruff happily.

And on that note, all the engines of Knapford sheds went off happily to sleep. That night, as he slept, Hank dreamt about the days of working side by side with old friends, including Chris the Dreyfus Hudson, who saved him from the horrible Gas Axe.


	62. Wrong Paint

_**Wrong Paint**_

One evening, Gordon pulled into the big station with the express as per usual, he had run to perfect time today and now he was eight minutes ahead of the timetable, "nice run Gordon," called his Driver, "the Fat Controller's sure to be pleased with you."

"Indeed I am," said a familar voice, Gordon's Driver jumped in surprise. He hadn't seen the Fat Controller when they came in. "I've heard that you've been doing quite well today Gordon and I am proud of you."

"Thank you sir," smiled Gordon.

"Now as you know, your brother 'Flying Scotsman' will be returning to his home in a couple of days, so before he leaves, I would like you to run a doubleheader run with him."

"A double header run with my legendary brother," gasped Gordon.

"Yes indeed," smiled the Fat Controller, "and for this special occassion, I would like you to be repainted with a fresh coat of paint."

"Yes sir," smiled Gordon.

That night, the engines were talking about some of the old railways they came from, "the engines on oor used ta be blue," remembered Donald, "but nae as dark as wee were, Douggie and me ne'er were though, we had ta be black."

"The engines on the LNER, my former railroad," said Gordon, "all used to be green, it was nice in a way, but I prefer my blue. It's suitable for an important engine like me."

"Do you wish you could be painted green again?" Billy asked.

"Sometimes, but I prefer being blue, I wouldn't feel like me if I was painted any other color, like green or red," Gordon chuckled, "if I was painted red, people would think I was a fire engine."

"At least people can see me coming," retorted James, "I don't disappear into the background like some engines I could mention. If wasn't for the noise, you would need a yellow and black front like 'Arry and Bert."

"Shut up James," Gordon huffed crossly, but no one heard him because some of the other engines were laughing over James' joke. "He's just jealous," muttered Gordon to himself.

Early the next morning, Gordon was taken off to the Sodor steamworks for his new coat of paint. While he was there, the workmen looked him over to see if he was in good working order.

"Everything seems in order," said one of the workmen, "now let's get that paint of yours off."

It took almost two hours, but soon all the blue paint had been removed. Then the special 'undercoat' was applied, this is a special coat of paint that goes under the actual coat of paint.

"Kevin!" called Victor, "can you bring out the blue paint?"

"Yes boss!" called Kevin from another part of the shop. He soon appeared with a crate full of cans of blue paint, "Here's your blue paint Gordon!" he called.

"Just be careful where you are going!" Gordon cried, "because you're heading for Victor!"

"Watch out Kevin!" Victor cried.

Kevin heard the warning and swerved away from Victor, but he took the turn too tight. As a result, he fell and landed on his side while his crate smashed to the ground, some of the paint cans inside broke open upon impact and the blue paint inside spilled out everywhere, except on Gordon.

"Opps, sorry boss," said Kevin, "it was a slip of the hook."

"And you weren't paying attention to what you were doing either," added Victor, "you need to be more careful next time."

"Yes boss, sorry boss."

"It's alright Kevin - once we get you back on your wheels, I want you to go into the back of the shop and get more blue paint for Gordon."

Once he was on his wheels again, Kevin raced off to the back of the shops. Less than a minute later, he called out, "we're all out of Blue paint boss!"

Victor sighed unhappily, "I'm sorry Gordon, but it looks like we'll have to paint you a different color, at least until we get more blue paint."

"Oh the idignity," Gordon grumbled crossly.

Kevin soon returned to the front with another crate full of paint cans. Gordon was not happy about it, but he was horrified when he saw which color Kevin brought up, "Green paint? I refuse to be painted green!"

"I'm sorry Gordon," Kevin said apologetically, "but this is the only color we have left."

Gordon had no choice but to admit defeat and allow the workmen to paint him in green, "everyone's bound to think I'm Henry," he thought to himself, "James will never let me hear the end of it."

After three quarters of an hour later, the workmen had painted Gordon from boiler to tender in bright green paint.

His crew were surprised when they saw Gordon in green, Victor told them everything that had happened.

"Never mind Gordon," said his Driver, "you're still the same old Gordon we've come to know all these years - just a little different than before" Gordon grunted as the warmth of his fire spread his boiler.

"Sorry again Gordon," called Kevin as the big blue engine puffed sulkily away.

Gordon soon pulled into the big station with the express. "Why's Henry on the front of the express?" one of the passengers asked, "I thought Gordon usually pulled that train."

Before Gordon could say a word, Niki puffed in with the stopping passenger train, "hello Henry, Niki thought Gordon was suppose to take the train."

"I am Gordon!" he said angerily.

"Oh it is you Gordon, Niki should've known by looking at the number on your tender."

Gordon only sulked sadly and puffed away as soon as the guard had blown his whistle.

Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, Gordon heard 'why is Henry on the front of the express?' or 'Hello Henry, are you pulling the express today?' Gordon felt miserable, he missed his blue paint.

"Bother that Kevin!" he grumbled, "Why can't he be more careful?"

"He's just learning," said his Driver, "he'll get better in time, don't you worry about that."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Gordon grunted.

As he pulled into Vicarstown station, he overheard some snickering coming from Norman and Paxton, two of the Dieselworks' diesels, "hey Pax, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I'm seeing it Norman," he snickered, "it's No. 4 in green paint and here I thought he doesn't like being any other color."

The teasing was far from over, because James was at one of the nearby platforms with a goods train, "changed your mind about which color is suitable for an important engine like your good self?" he asked in a teasing way, "green really suits you Gordon!"

Just before Gordon could answer, the four engines heard a whistle in the distance - which belonged to...Flying Scotsman, he was coming in with a goods train of his own.

"Oh no," Gordon groaned, "I can't let Flying Scotsman see me in this green paint."

But Gordon couldn't go anywhere until his passengers had gotten off the train. He shut his eyes and awaited the horrible teasing.

Flying Scotsman came to a smooth stop right beside Gordon, when he saw his green paint, Flying Scotsman could only smile, "why Gordon, I'm honored," he said. Gordon opened his eyes to see his brother's smile, "you're wearing our railway's old green paint, the visitors are going to love seeing two A3 pacific engines thunder along the line together...and in their original green livery too."

"Actually..." Gordon was about to tell Flying Scotsman of what happened at the Steamworks, but after seeing that smile on his brother's face, he decided not to, "I meant to say 'Excatly', we can give those rail enthusiasts a run they'll never forget."

"Then what do you say we get turned around for our train?"

"Sure thing," smiled Gordon.

While they were getting turned around, a diesel from the Other Railway came to collect the express and the two diesel shunters took Flying Scotsman's train over to the yards. For that heavy load, both diesels were required to take the train.

"I would probably blow me engine out pulling this alone," grumbled Paxton.

"How do those steaming kettles do it?" groaned Norman.

By the time the rail enthusiasts arrived, the two engines were ready to go, after Sidney had brought the coaches to the platform, "have a good run you two!" he called.

"We will," said the two engines in unison.

The rail enthusiasts took tonnes of pictures of the two engines, "it's not everyday you get to see two engines of the same class in the same paint scheme," said one of them, "what a sight!"

Soon all was ready, Flying Scotsman was nearest the train and Gordon was coupled on in front. The guard blew his whistle and the two engines stormed out of the station in terrific style. All along the line to Knapford station, people came by the dozens to take photographs and film this historic run, it truely was an amazing sight.

They raced through stations, charged up Gordon's hill without a banker engine and rolled along through the countryside and into the big station at Knapford with minutes to spare.

"Well, that was fun," smiled Flying Scotsman, "good run Gordon."

"Thanks Scotsman, you did good back there too."

The night morning, the two engines did another doubleheader run to Vicarstown, the start of Flying Scotsman's trip back home. All the engines who could came to see him off. Donald, Douglas and some of the other engines all sang 'Auld Lang Syne', the Fat Controller made a speech and then Flying Scotsman puffed away to a chrous of whistles.

"Green or Blue," Flying Scotsman said to Gordon, "You'll always be my brother. Take care Gordon and remember, keep on steamin'!"

"I will!" called Gordon. Then with a cheerful blast from his whistle, Flying Scotsman was away but not before Gordon blew off his mighty whistle as his way of saying 'good bye!'

At the end of the day, Gordon was at the Sodor steamworks getting his coat of blue paint, "so Gordon," said Victor, "tell me, how did it feel to be a green engine?"

"It was a lot of fun," smiled Gordon, "I quite enjoyed being green for those special runs - all the same, I'm glad to be returning to my blue paint."

"You should try being red for once," said James from another part of the shop, "it is a suitable color for a splendid engine like..."

"Look out!" cried a voice. It was Kevin again, he had run over some oil and now he was spinning out of control and heading towards James while carrying another crate of paint cans. Kevin was able to stop before hitting James, but the crate flew off his hook and the cans of paint splattered everywhere - included all over James.

He was covered from funnel to cab in black paint.

"Never mind James," chuckled Gordon, "I think you might like the black paint, even though people will ask why Morgan is on the front of your trains."

Gordon, Kevin, Victor and all the workers laughed loudly while James went red in the face, although it was hard to tell.


	63. A Nightmare for Diesel 10

_**A Nightmare for Diesel 10**_

Diesel 10 is the main diesel engine in charge of the Sodor Dieselworks, quite like how Victor is the main steam engine in charge of the Sodor Steamworks. Unlike Victor though, Diesel 10 isn't as kind as him. He bosses all the diesels around rudely and often scares them with his giant metal claw, "get a move on you lazy lot!" he often yells, "I want this Dieselworks to work harder than those rust buckets at the Steamworks, now Move IT!" Because of his attitude, it's a wonder why the diesels are glad when he's away and Den and Dart are left in charge of the Dieselworks.

One Evening, Edward was puffing into the Dieselworks with a train load of supplies.

"Good evening!" he called to the diesels.

None of them replied back, they just stared at Edward, "well they seem to be in a cheerful mood," his Driver said sarcastically.

"Just leave your trucks and get out of my yards!" growled a voice from the nearby shed. A dark shape emerged as it rolled out of the main shed, snapping it's claw loudly, it was Diesel 10.

"Well that explains why the other diesels are just staring at us," said Edward's fireman to the Driver, "they're always like this when he's around."

Diesel 10 stopped just outside of the building, "I thought that green box on wheels was suppose to bring this train, why are you here?"

"BoCo was called away on another job," said Edward, "so the Fat Controller asked me to bring this train here in his place."

Diesel 10 growled while his claw, nicknamed Pinchy, snapped wildly, "Shut up Pinchy!" snapped Diesel 10, then he looked back over to Edward, "I'll never understand what your controller sees in such useless rust buckets like yourself, you should've been scrapped like the rest of the steam engines when Diesel engines came out, at least we're up to date, unlike you!"

"I'd be careful if I were you Diesel 10," said Edward catiously, "otherwise one day, you might be saying that on the other side of your frames."

Diesel 10 was taken aback by this remark, as were some of the other diesels. They had never heard anyone say that to Diesel 10 before.

"You're lucky you're a Fat Controller's engine," snarled Diesel 10, "otherwise I'd scrap you on the spot!" Pinchy snapped wildly as if to agree with the big diesel.

"I'm sorry if I offended Diesel 10, I was just saying you should be careful about what you say. You know on the Other Railway, they're scrapping older diesel engines for the newer ones, doesn't seem right if you ask me."

"Well no one was!" snapped Diesel 10, "I don't believe you when you say that diesels are being scrapped. Now leave those trucks and be gone from my works!"

"Very well Diesel 10," Edward said calmly. Edward pushed his trucks into a siding, then after being uncoupled from them, he puffed away, light engine.

"Diesel engines being scrapped," sniffed Diesel 10, "What rubbish that Old Iron talks about."

Paxton spoke up, "it's not rubbish Diesel 10, diesel engines are being scrapped all over the place. Like our class of engines, they were all withdrawn for the newer bigger shunters, isn't that right Sidney?"

"Right you are Paxton," agreed Sidney, he was being brought back down to ground level by the turntable in the main shed, "it's actually the reason why Splatter, Dodge and my good self came here."

"Dennis and I are the only engines of our class," said Norman, "but I'm sure if there were others, they would've been scrapped too."

"Now that I think of it," added Paxton, "I've never seen engines of your class out on the main line Diesel 10, I think they've all been..."

"QUIET!" snapped Diesel 10, "I can't believe how stupid you lot are, you actually believe what that steaming scrap heap told you. Diesels were made to replace those steam engines, there's no way they would scrap us. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a train to take to the Other Railway. Splodge! Are my trucks ready?"

"Yes boss," called Splatter and Dodge in unison. They rolled up with a long line of trucks, "your train is ready to go!"

"Good," sniffed Diesel 10 as he roared into life. Once coupled up to his trucks, he rumbled away for the Other Railway, "Diesels being scrapped, what rubbish!"

It was midnight by the time Diesel 10 returned to the Dieselworks, most of the other diesels were busy at the time, so he had to shunt his own empty trucks into the sidings, he biffed and bashed them around like they were toys.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" cried the trucks, "be careful!"

"Oh shut up!" snarled Diesel 10.

Once the trucks had been arranged into their sidings, Diesel 10 rumbled off to the main shed for a rest. Of course he had some trouble getting into his berth as the automactic doors slammed down on him a few times before he was finally in.

"Stupid doors," growled Diesel 10. He soon forgot about the doors though, he was so tired that he closed his eyes and went off to sleep.

He then heard some crashing noises. He awoke to find himself on rusty old tracks, surronded by diesel engines, all looking very rusty, "where are we?" he asked in surprise, "last I remember, I was in the Dieselworks."

"Dieselworks?" asked one of the other diesels, "dear boy, you've been here for years remember?"

"No, I was not!"

"Oh dear," groaned another diesel, "this one is losing it's mind."

Diesel 10 gasped, but then snarled, "watch what you're saying, or I'll have Pinchy snap at you!"

"Who?"

Diesel 10 looked up and gasped again, his claw was no longer on his roof, "where's my claw?"

The first diesel sighed, "don't you remember, it was removed after you broke down and they brought you here."

"And where is here?"

"Where else? The smelter's yard, the end of the line for all of us diesels."

"Impossible, we were built to replace those stupid steaming kettles. We're the superior engines here, not them!"

"So we all said," said a third diesel, "we always thought we were the superior engines and that we would stay in service for years, but we were wrong. Newer diesels come out of those shops every day, they prove to be stronger and more reliable than we ever were. With them around," he continued with a heavy sigh, "all the jobs were given to them and we are withdrawn from service and sent off to be scrapped."

"Oh no!" cried Diesel 10, "that old Iron was right! Older diesels are being scrapped."

"Yeah he's lost his mind," sighed the second diesel.

Just then, a worker arrived carrying something with him. Diesel 10 strained his eyes to see what it was - a second later he gasped, because it was a gas axe.

"And my dad said you would last forever," said the worker, "looks like I'm going to prove him wrong tonight when I bring home a piece of this tin can."

"No, don't you dare touch me with that!" snapped Diesel 10, "I'm not for scrapping!"

But the worker didn't hear a single word Diesel 10 said. He instead lit the gas axe and pointed it at the buffer beams. The gas axe came closer and closer, Diesel 10 closed his eyes and started shouting, "this can't be happening! This can't be happening! It must be a nightmare!"

"Don't worry," said the worker, "the nightmare will end soon."

"Stop! NO! HELP!" he screamed.

"Diesel 10? Are you alright?" a voice from nearby asked. Diesel 10's eyes opened wide, he found himself being brought out of his shed. He looked around to find that he was in the Dieselworks and that Den and Dart were outside looking worried, "we heard you yelling," said Den.

"And screaming for help too," said Dart.

"I...It was just a dream I had..." he stammered, "I rather not talk about it with you lot!"

He rolled onto the turntable, then after being lowered down to ground level, he went outside to work. As he came out of the sheds, he could see Edward coming in with more engine parts.

"BoCo is busy at the China Clay works with Bill and Ben," Edward explained, "So the Fat Controller asked me to bring these trucks here again."

"Fine," said Diesel 10 quietly, "just shunt your trucks and go."

"Diesel 10, is something bothering you?" Edward asked kindly.

"No nothing...well, except that I...I...I now believe you when you said that diesel engines are being scrapped. Don't ask what made me believe you, cause I won't say it!"

"Alright Diesel 10, I won't ask. But don't worry, like the steam engines years ago, older diesel engines are being saved by preservation groups, museums and other lines like ours, so who knows, you might see some of your old friends again someday."

"Whatever," sniffed Diesel 10, pretending like didn't care.

But Edward knew he did care, he could tell by the small smile on Diesel 10's face, but said nothing more on the subject. Once he was uncoupled from the trucks, Edward puffed off to collect some empty trucks. What he didn't know was that Diesel 10 shedded a small tear from his right eye and sighing quietly, "I hope you're right old Timer," he muttered.


	64. Arnold the Rude Engine

_**Arnold the Rude Engine**_

It was just a few days after New Years, and the Little Engines of the Skarloey Railway were kept quite busy with both goods and passenger services. They were doing quite well, until one day...

Dan the Diesel Engine was rumbling along with a goods train, the trucks were behaving themselves quite well and he was making good time - that was until he heard a small 'boom' coming from his engine. Within seconds, the train came to a stop and dirty black smoke surronded him in an alarming rate, "what happened?" he groaned.

When the smoke cleared, his Driver got down to inspect Dan's engine, "something's blown inside your engine old boy," said his Driver, "it's hard to tell what it was though, we'll have to send you to the Dieselworks to have it looked over." Dan's Driver got out his mobile phone and informed the Thin Controller of the whole situation.

"I'll send Mighty Mac to pick you up and I'll ask Duke and Sakura to take your train," the Thin Controller told him.

Within minutes, Duke and Sakura arrived to take over the train and Mighty Mac arrived to take Dan to the Transfer yards where Den and Dart were waiting. "Get well soon Dan!" called Mac as the two diesels took him away.

"Don't worry, we'll fix his problem," called Den, "Well, what I mean is..."

"What he means is that we'll have repaired in no time!" called Dart in a hurry.

Later that evening, the Thin Controller came to the sheds to speak with the little engines, "Since Dan is going to be at the Dieselworks," he said, "I've borrowed another engine from the Stone Quarry railway to help us until Dan returns. Now I hope you will make him feel welcomed when he comes," he paused and looked over to Sir Handel and Duncan, "that goes double for you two, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," the two engines spoke in chrous.

Before any of the engines could ask of the visitor's name, the Thin Controller rode away on his bicycle. Once he was out of sight, Sir Handel spoke quietly to Fearless Freddie, "I sure hope the Thin Controller isn't bringing _him_ here."

"So do I," Freddie whispered back.

A couple of days later, Rheneas, Sir Handel and Fearless Freddie were working down at the coal mines when they heard an unfamilar whistle in the distance, followed by the sounds of pistons pumping. "Oh no," groaned Sir Handel, "it can't be, the Thin Controller brought _him_ here?"

"It would appear so," sighed Fearless Freddie.

The engine rolled into the coal mine and stopped near the workmen's office. The engine itself had a rectangluar tank on top of it's boiler, it also had a very wide cab, a small dome, four driving wheels, nameplates on both of his tanks reading 'Arnold' and was painted in Golden Yellow, almost like Duncan.

"It's alright I suppose," Arnold sniffed, "at least it's not a stone quarry."

Rheneas puffed up next to him, "hello there, welcome to our railway. Did you have a safe journey here?"

"Not really, stupid lorry was bouncing about like a ball hitting the ground. I was quite relieved to finally get off that thing. Now where are my trucks?"

"Your trucks are waiting in the sidings right now, they need to be loaded up. I advise you to..."

"Yeah, yeah whatever," sniffed Arnold and he puffed off to collect his trucks.

"Well that was very rude of him," said Rheneas' Driver. He and Rheneas watched as Arnold puffed up to his trucks and started bumping them around the yards.

"He's probably just tired after his long journey," said Rheneas, "I'm sure he'll calm down in a while and start behave himself."

But Rheneas was wrong, Arnold did not calm down and he certainly did not behave. As he worked, he would shout at the trucks and call them names and he would bump hard - a little too hard on some cases, which nearly damaged them.

"Ow! Be careful you silly engine!" they cried.

"Oh shut up you rubbish bins on wheels," he snarled at them, "I don't have time to listen to your stupid whining, so please keep quiet!"

"You better watch it or..." one of the trucks couldn't finish what he wanted to say, because Arnold had given him such a rude bumping that sent him flying down the siding and smash into some loaded coal trucks.

"Be careful Arnold," advised Rheneas, "if you continue bumping the trucks, then you might..."

"Ah sip it already!" snapped Arnold, "I don't have the time to listen to an Old Timer like you. You just go on and on and you never stop, so please keep quiet! I have work to do!" With that said, Arnold puffed off, leaving Rheneas at a loss of words.

"He reminds me of the way Katie used to talk to Skarloey and myself," he thought to myself.

At the end of the day, Rheneas puffed back into the sheds and told the other engines all about Arnold, "he does sound a little like Katie," said Skarloey, "speaking of Arnold though, where is he?"

"Here he comes now," said Rusty.

When Arnold saw the shed, he stopped outside in disgust and refused to go in any further, "I refuse to stay in a shack like this," he snorted darkly, "it's not suitable for an engine like myself. I want to stay in a real shed."

"But this is a real shed," said Duke, "it's a place where we..."

"I see I've found another granpuff on this railroad. I'll never understand why you old timers are still in service, you should be in a museum - not running about on a toy railway!"

"Oi you, shut up!" snapped Smudger, "this is not a toy railway!"

"And you have no right to say such rude things to Skarloey, Rheneas or Duke," added Rusty, "they might be old, but they are still useful engines."

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that motor oil tin can. You know engines like you and those old timers are not in use on the Stone Quarry railway, care to know why?" the engines glared at him with angry stares, "it's because your types are useless!"

Sir Handel and Fearless Freddie puffed in, "No that's not the reason!" Fearless Freddie said firmly, "the reason older engines and diesels aren't in operation at the Stone Quarry Railway is because the tracks are too bumpy and rough for them. The stone quarry railway is only suitable for rough and bumpy engines."

"You keep telling yourself that," sniffed Arnold, "but you know that I'm right."

"No, you are wrong Arnold!"

Sir Handel spoke up next, "if this shed isn't good enough for you, why don't you find one to stay in - at least then we won't have to listen to you tonight!"

"Fine, suits me just fine," sniffed Arnold, "I'd rather be alone than to be with a bunch of losers like you lot!"

With that rude comment said, Arnold reserved down the line to find his 'perfect' shed. Once he was out of sight, the engines started talking about Arnold's rude behavior, "his attitude certainly not suit his grace at all," said Duke.

"And how dare he speak like that about you, Skarloey and Rheneas like that," added Sakura, "I haven't seen such rude behaviour since I was working on my old line."

Smudger spoke up next, "Sir Handel, you and Freddie used to work on the Stone Quarry Railway right? Tell me, was Arnold always like that?"

"Afraid so," Freddie answered, "he would insult any engine who he thought wasn't as 'grand' or 'useful' as he was, it didn't matter of their age."

"It wasn't just the engines he did that to," added Sir Handel, "he would do that to trucks, workers, coaches - he would say rude remarks to pretty much everyone in the stone quarry, and he would bump others for the same reasons."

"He almost sounds like the way I used to act back on the Mid Sodor Railway," Smudger said quietly, "what about the rules, does Arnold ever follow them?"

"Sadly not, he likes disobeying the rules because he believes they just slow him down."

"Well that explains why he was so rough with the trucks," said Rheneas.

The engines stopped talking when they saw the Thin Controller coming over to speak to them, "I hear that Arnold isn't staying in the sheds tonight, would anyone care to explain why?"

"He chose not to stay here sir," said Peter Sam, "he even said so, although he didn't use those words correctly."

"If I may speak here sir," said Smudger, "that engine you brought from the Stone Quarry is a very rude engine, he insulted all of us, called our line a toy railway and he nearly damaged the trucks at the coal mines."

"Is that so?" the Thin Controller raised an eyebrow, he turned to Skarloey and Rheneas, "is this true?"

"Yes sir," said Rheneas, "Smudger is telling you the whole truth."

"Sir if I mean ask," Sir Handel spoke up, "why did you bring Arnold here? Any of the other engines would've been a better choice and friendlier too."

The Thin Controller sighed unhappily, "I'm well aware of that Sir Handel, I didn't want to bring him here, but he was the only engine the Stone Quarry would send to us, all the other engines were busy with the work down at the quarry, you know how busy it gets at this time of the year."

"Yes I do," Sir Handel sighed unhappily.

"I know you engines might not like the way he talks or the way he works, but it's what we're going have to put up with until Dan comes back. The only advise I can give you is to ignore his remarks and make sure you help him stay out of trouble."

"Yes sir," said the engines in chrous, sadly. The Thin Controller turned on his heel and walked away from the shed, wondering just how much trouble Arnold was going to cause with his reckless and rude behaviour.


	65. The Trouble with Arnold

_**The Trouble with Arnold**_

The following next morning, Peter Sam was getting filled up at the water tower when Arnold arrived, blaring his whistle loud and long, "hey you green rubbish!" he shouted rudely, "it's my turn at the water tower, move out of the way!"

"We're almost done here Arnold," Peter Sam firmly, "We'll move when we're done!"

"No, you will move now!" And Arnold charged at Peter Sam - he bashed his buffers hard! The fireman was knocked off the boiler, but luckily he landed in some bushes beside the line.

"Ow!" cried Peter Sam.

"I told you to move, and yet you wouldn't," sniffed Arnold, "so I moved you out of the way myself. Now get out of my sight, I don't want to see your back end while I'm getting my tanks refilled."

Peter Sam looked like he was going to blow a steam pipe.

His Driver meanwhile had gotten out to see if the fireman was okay, "I'm alright," said the fireman, "although I would like to have a few words with Arnold's crew. Why do they allow their engine to do this?"

"I have no idea," sighed the Driver, "but we can't worry about that now, we have work to do. We'll fill up later at the quarry."

Once they were back in the cab, they took Peter Sam away, who was still cross at being bumped by Arnold.

Of course they didn't have enough water to make it to the quarry, they stopped just outside of it. The Driver went on ahead to call for help and soon, Smudger arrived to push Peter Sam to the water tower, "why didn't you fill up at the water tower?" Smudger asked. Peter Sam didn't answer, his Driver pointed down to his back buffers. It didn't take Smudger long to figure out what happened, "Arnold?"

"Yep," Peter Sam grunted, "he bumped me away from the water tower."

Just then, the engine of their discussion pulled up to the quarry gates in a dashing hurry, "move faster you slugs!" he barked, "if you can't be useful, go derail yourselves!" Because he was yelling at the other engines, he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.

"Stop! Stop!" cried a workman.

But Arnold didn't stop or slow down - he bashed into some trucks, which rolled along the siding and bashed threw the buffers! Luckily, the trucks didn't tip over, they remained upright.

The quarry manager was furious, "you're lucky those trucks didn't derail!" he said angerily, "next time, pay attention to what you are doing!"

"Fine, whatever," Arnold sniffed and puffed away to do another job.

Smudger had to come and pull the trucks back onto the tracks, "I can tell there's more trouble coming from Arnold real soon," he groaned.

He was right. A little later, Bertram was puffing along with the vintage coaches when they heard Arnold's loud booming whistle blasting at them, "move out of the way old timer, I can't wait all day for you!"

Bertram payed no attention to the rude words, "I will not rush," he puffed, "I do not want to upset the passengers."

Arnold was losing patience, "I do not want to wait!" he barked angerily. His Driver, who was a lot like Arnold, didn't want to wait either. So - very foolishly, he opened the regulator and made Arnold charge at Bertram's train - Arnold biffed into Beatrice, who bumped into the other coaches and Bertram.

"Oof!" groaned Bertram, "stop that! That's no way to behave on a railway!"

"Oh shut your trap," sniffed Arnold and continued pushing with all his might.

"What a rude engine," said Agnes crossly, "let's pay the foolish engine out."

"No don't," said Lucy, "we can't harm the passengers."

Bertram's Driver had no choice, he had to open the regulator and make Bertram go faster than Arnold. The coaches did not enjoy the ride and neither did the passengers, they were bounced about like a ball hitting the ground.

That evening, the engines were talking about Arnold's rude behaviour - just as the Thin Controller came up to see them, "I see Arnold is not staying at the sheds," he said.

"Well we asked him if he would to stay in our sheds sir," said Skarloey, "but he refuses everytime."

"Sir," Bertram spoke up, "Arnold's behaviour is getting out of control, he rammed the end of my train - to stop him from ramming the coaches and myself, we had to go faster than him."

"Yes I know Bertram," said the Thin Controller, "your Driver told me everything after your run. Just to let you know, the passengers don't blame you for this."

"And neither do the coaches," added Sakura, "I was talking with them as I shunted trucks earlier and they say they don't blame you."

"And sir..." Smudger began.

"I know, he bashed some trucks through the buffers at the quarry and he bumped Peter Sam at the water tower. Don't you lot worry, I'm going to have a little talk with him."

And that's actually what he did. He found Arnold at the Transfer yards in a lonely siding, "I do not approve of your reckless behaviour Arnold," the Thin Controller said firmly to him, "your actions could have caused serious injuries, not to mention you could've damaged some of my engines! Now behave yourself, do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah sure," Arnold said as if he wasn't paying attention.

The Thin Controller stared angerily at Arnold, "tomorrow, you will be doubleheading with Smudger on the passenger runs, I accept you to be on your best behaviour - same with your crew. Anymore of this foolishness and I will leave you on goods duties throughout the rest of your stay here."

Shortly after the Thin Controller left, Arnold sniffed loudly, "oh, I'm so scared," he said with a snigger, "whatever, I don't care."

The next morning, Smudger was backed down onto the vintage coaches first, then Arnold backed on in front of Smudger. Smudger had been very kind with the coaches when he backed down, but Arnold was not so kind - he bumped Smudger and the coaches.

"Hey be careful!" cried Smudger.

"Did that green engine bump us?" exclaimed Agnes.

"No it wasn't Smudger, it was Arnold, he bumped us!" said Jemima crossly, "he's more than rude - he's horrid!"

Smudger spoke firmly to Arnold, "you need to be more careful," he advised, "didn't the Thin Controller tell you to behave yourself last night?" Arnold didn't answer, mostly because he wasn't paying to Smudger again.

Soon, the guard's whistle blew and the train started sharply away from the platform with a rude jerk, "ohh!" cried the coaches, "be careful! Be careful!"

But Arnold payed no attention, "Hurry up! Hurry up you green snail!" he snapped at Smudger.

"Slow down! Slow down!" cried Smudger, "there's no need to rush, there's plenty of time!"

Again Arnold payed no attention. He never did during the entire run along the line, he rushed up the hills, down the hills, through the valleys and blasted through level crossings recklessly. At one of the crossings, he dashed by so fast that he nearly hit Elizabeth's back bumper, "be careful you silly engine," she shouted.

Arnold payed no attention and continued on recklessly down the tracks - the passengers had a very uncomfortable ride.

So it was no wonder why when they arrived at the Middle station that they started shouting at Arnold and his crew for their reckless actions.

Some walked up to Smudger, but they didn't speak angerily to him. All they said was, "you poor engine, we're sorry you have to work with this rude fella." They also apologized to the coaches, "we're sorry you had to be pulled by _him_," said the passengers.

So many passengers complained about Arnold that it was decided to take Arnold off the train and let Smudger go on alone.

"Fine," sniffed Arnold, "I never like pulling passenger trains anyways." Once he was uncoupled and moved out of the way, Smudger continued on to finish the journey.

He did quite well on his own, but he lost a few mintues thanks to the changes. On his way back to the sheds, he was passing the transfer yards when he saw the Thin Controller talking with Arnold. He looked over to Smudger and raised his hand, as if to tell his crew to stop their engine, "uh oh," groaned Smudger, "I think the Thin Controller might be thinking that I'm also to blame for what happened earlier."

"Well we'll soon find out," said his Driver as he applied the brakes and brought Smudger to a smooth stop.

A minute later, the Thin Controller came over to speak with Smudger and his crew, "I'm sorry sir, I was trying to be careful, I would never dream of bumping the passengers or the coaches..."

"It's okay Smudger," smiled the Thin Controller, "I'm not blaming you for what happened today - I heard from the passengers that you did quite well today when you were on your own. I'm quite proud of you old boy."

"Oh...ah...well thank you sir," Smudger smiled.

"It's Arnold I'm not happy with," he said firmly, "I actually just got threw talking with him and his crew. Throughout the rest of his stay, he will doing goods duties, no passengers. Now go back to the shed please, you deserve a good night's rest."

"Thank you sir," said Smudger and he puffed away feeling relieved.

The Thin Controller turned and walked off to the nearby station to get his bike. Before he got to the platform, he looked over to Arnold with a firm look on his face, "behave yourself Arnold!" he said firmly and then walked away.

But of course, Arnold just sniffed because he just didn't care, "you think you know best. Whatever!" he snorted loudly, "he's all talk and no show. Doesn't matter, I'll do goods work the way I want to do it, not his way." Little did Arnold know that he would soon land in trouble, but that's for another story.


	66. Sir Handel, Duncan & the Runaway Train

_**Sir Handel, Duncan and the Runaway Train**_

The next morning, Arnold was marshalling some trucks into a long goods train - like so many times before, he was being rough and reckless as he did his shunting work.

"You want to yell at him this time or should I?" asked one of the yard workers.

"What's the point? The silly engine never listens to us anyways," said another yard worker, "the only people that engine listens to his crew, and they're just as bad as he is."

"I have a bad feeling that before the end of the day, that visiting engine is going to land in a heap of trouble."

After much banging and clashing, Arnold's train was just about ready to go. All they needed was the brake van, "I don't need a silly brake van," sniffed Arnold, "I can do this job so much better without one."

The Driver leaned out the cab to check on the points, "those lazy fools," he groaned, "they forgot to change the points for us!"

"Never mind Kyle!" called the fireman, who was standing beside the brake van, "I'll get the points!"

"No need, I'll get them myself!" With that said, he applied the brakes and jumped out of the cab, but he hadn't put them on properly.

"Get back in the cab you fool!" cried the fireman, "I told you I would get the points," but the Driver didn't pay attention to the fireman. It might've been better if he did. The brake handle was still loose...and as Arnold rolled over a bump, the brake handle came off and Arnold's speed started to pick up.

The Driver had just changed the points and was about to run into the cab when he saw his engine coming towards him, going faster than he was before, "hey Arnold, where the heck do you think you're going?"

"Get back in the cab you dummy!" cried the fireman.

"Blast!" cried the Driver and ran alongside Arnold. He managed to grab onto the handle outside of the cab, but he couldn't hold on for long as Arnold puffed even faster. The Driver tripped and fell onto the ballast. "Oh no," he groaned, "Something tells me that I'm going to get fired from this job once our manager finds out."

"I've already found out you idiots!" snapped a voice from the nearby platform. It was the Stone Quarry Controller, along with the Thin Controller, "you know it's aganist the rules to leave the cab while your engine is in motion. You should've let your little pal get the points. Instead, your engine is a runaway on the loose!"

"I should've known something like this would happen," groaned the Thin Controller, "hopefully though Arnold will stop soon...depending on how far out his throttle was..." he eyed Arnold's Driver, "you pulled it all the way out didn't you?"

"Yeah," groaned the Driver, "and there's worse news...he has no brakes, I saw his brake handle on the floor."

The Stone Quarry Controller looked over to the Thin Controller, "He wasn't the best maintained engines in the quarry. I advise you to phone all the signalboxs along your line and tell them to divert your trains into the sidings."

The Thin Controller didn't need telling twice, he was off in a flash while the Stone Quarry Controller spoke severaly to Arnold's Driver and fireman.

Out on the line, Rusty was pushing some trucks to the Transfer yards while Mr. Hugh was riding in Beatrice at the front of the train. As they rumbled along, Mr. Hugh thought he heard the sound of pistons pumping - he looked out and saw Arnold coming towards them - and in a frantic hurry. He waved back to Rusty, "back Rusty! Back!" he shouted.

Rusty's brakes came on with a groan, then he started to reserve - but by the time his speed had been brought up, Arnold was already on his tail and gaining. Rusty's Driver blew the horn four times - that means 'Emergency!' in railroad codes. A signalman looked out his signalbox and saw what the emergency was - he quickly changed the points, allowing Rusty to go into the siding, then very quickly he changed the points back to allow Arnold to race by.

"Good timing Alan!" called Mr. Hugh, "if you hadn't acted quickly, this could've been a nasty accident. I better call the Thin Controller and inform him about this..." His mobile phone started ringing. Mr. Hugh picked it up and answered it, "hello sir, if you're calling about Arnold, we already know about him, he nearly bumped us off the tracks."

"Where are you now?" The Thin Controller asked on the other end of the phone.

"We're in a siding right now, thanks to Alan the Singalman's quick timing."

"Good, at least you're safe," he then told Mr. Hugh about what happened back in the yards, "the question now is...are the other engines safe from the runaway?"

Further down the line, Duncan was puffing along with some vans behind him. He was humming out a little tune to himself when he heard his Driver's mobile phone ringing, "ahh!" Duncan groaned, "And just when I was getting into the best part of the song."

His Driver answered the phone, he gasped at what he heard, "what's going on?" asked the fireman.

"You won't believe this, but that silly visiting engine Arnold is now a runaway and he's on our track! We have to get into the nearest siding as fast as we can, otherwise we're going to have a head on shot with him!"

He opened the regulator even more and Duncan shot on ahead, he was too terrified to sing now. He kept an eye for the runaway train.

At last, they reached the siding. The Driver reduced speed and the fireman got out to change the points, "why are we slowing down?" Duncan asked.

"We have to Duncan," said his Driver, "otherwise we'll fly right off the tracks."

"I think that's the least of our worries now, cause here comes Arnold!"

The Driver looked out and saw that Duncan was right, Arnold was coming straight towards them - and he was still puffing along at a fast pace. Duncan closed his eyes as he swerved into the siding, followed by his trucks.

"Yes!" he heard his fireman cry, "you made it!"

Duncan opened his eyes and saw that he was now safely in the siding, but the tail end of his train wasn't. The last van was just coming into the siding - Arnold smashed into it, somehow managing to stay on the tracks, but the van had been smashed into pieces.

Duncan's Driver and fireman moped their brows, "whew! Well, that was...different," sighed the fireman.

"Did you see how fast he was going?" Duncan asked, "if he isn't stopped soon, I'm sure he'll cause a serious accident and hurt someone."

"Well that's not going to happen on our watch," said the Driver. He spoke to the fireman, "get those points changed, we're going after the runaway!" The fireman didn't need telling twice, he ran over to the points while the Driver uncoupled Duncan from the trucks, then he drove Duncan back onto the line. Then once the fireman had changed the points again, he jumped back into the cab as Duncan chased after Arnold.

It took a while, but at last Duncan was able to catch up to the tail end of the train. The fireman leaned out the back of the cab with a long steel pole while the Driver made sure he didn't fall out. The fireman tried to grab Duncan's chain, but it was hard for all the swaying - but at last he managed to grab it and couple Duncan to the trucks.

"Good work man," smiled the Driver, "alright Duncan, are you ready for a little game of Tug-of-war?"

"I'm ready, let's stop this runaway!"

His Driver opened the regulator. Duncan's wheels started spinning the other way and fighting aganist Arnold and the trucks, but they didn't slow down - that was until he put on the brakes and held on tight, "Good," he sighed, "we're slowing down now."

"Oh good glory!" cried the fireman, "just look at that!"

The Driver looked out and saw that a farmer and his tractor were going over the crossing with an empty wagon behind them. He applied the brakes even harder, but it didn't help as Arnold was still going too fast - the visiting engine smashed into the trailer, tipping it over and making it fall into a ditch.

"Ow!" Arnold cried, "stupid tractors."

"Sorry about that!" Duncan called as the train sped by.

Try as they might, Duncan and his crew just couldn't slow the train down to a slower speed, "it's no good," groaned the Driver, "we'll most likely brake Duncan's brakes right off." And so he released the brakes, allowing Duncan to roll along, "we'll just have to wait till Arnold runs out of water."

Just then, they heard another engine's whistle, "that sounds like Sir Handel," said Duncan's fireman.

"It is Sir Handel!" cried Duncan, "he's coming to help!" Duncan was right, Sir Handel was coming to help. When he and his crew had been told of what was going on, they decided to help slow the train down. Like Duncan's fireman, Sir Handel's fireman leaned out of the cab to couple the two engines up. "Thank goodness you came Sir Handel," said Duncan, "I can't do this alone."

"Well you won't have to," he said, "and don't worry, there's a plan to stop this train, but it won't work unless we can slow the train down."

So once Sir Handel had been coupled up, both Drivers slammed on the brakes and held on as hard as they could. Thanks to the two engines, and some help from the trucks putting on their own brakes, the train was able to slow down.

When they reached the road, they found Madge speeding along trying to catch up to Arnold. The Thin Controller was riding on board - he timed his movement and then jumped into the cab. After getting into the cab, he reduced steam and the speed and then used the emergency brakes, which finally brought the train to a stop.

"Whew!" gasped the Thin Controller, "that was thrilling, thankfully no one was hurt."

A little later, the three engines were arrived back at the Transfer yards, where Den, Dart and Dan were waiting. Dan's engine had been fixed, he felt like a new engine again. After welcoming him back, the Thin Controller sent Dan off to work, then he went to speak to Sir Handel and Duncan, along with their crews, "I'm very pleased with you all, this runaway could've resulted in a disaster, but thanks to your bravery, very little damage has been done and no one's been hurt. Now since you were using your brakes to slow the train down, I'll send you two to the Steamworks to have them repaired and while you're there," he continued, "I'll ask the workmen to give you both new coats of paint."

"Oh thank you sir," smiled the two engines in chrous.

"You deserve it," smiled the Thin Controller. He also thanked Madge for her help too. Of course what he had to say to Arnold and his crew was not so kind. "I will never be inviting you three back," he said to Arnold and his crew, "unless you learn to behave yourselves."

"Oh don't worry about that sir," said the Stone Quarry Controller, "I'll make sure they learn that lesson."

Arnold and his crew gulped, they didn't like the sound of that.

That evening, Sir Handel and Duncan were taken off to the Steamworks and returned a few days later to a hero's welcome from the other engines and the workmen, "ah it was nothing," they said modestly, "any engine would've done it."

As for Arnold, he was sent away back to the Stone Quarry in disgrace - he now works in a lonely part of the quarry as punishment for what he did on the Skarloey Railway. Maybe one day, Arnold will change his attitude and become a better engine - well, what do you think?

**Author's Note:**

The runaway incident is based on the real life event of the runaway CSX freight train in 2001 when a forty one car train rumbled away without a crew. The train ran on for quite sometime until another diesel coupled up to the tail end of the train to slow it down and allow someone to climb into the cab and apply the brakes.


	67. Temper, Temper

_**Temper, Temper**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the idea**_

One afternoon, James was resting in the sheds after taking the stopping passenger train. He was feeling tired and wanted to take a little nap before his next job - but just as he closed his eyes, he felt cold water splashing all over him.

"What?" he exclaimed, "I didn't expect a cold bath!"

"Sorry James, it just takes a while for the water to warm up." James looked to his right and found who said that. It was the 17 year old daughter of his Driver. Her name is Margaret, who likes to be called Maggie instead. She's often seen working at the Steamworks as one of the many mechanics, but when she's not working there, she's often seen talking with James wherever he is.

Today, Maggie had spotted James resting in the sheds and wanted to give him a bath.

"Ahh!" James said after a while, "that's much better, the water's warming up now. So Maggie, how are you doing lately?"

"I'm doing quite well James," she answered, "I'm finally getting my driver's license, but my dad won't let me drive his car, it's like he doesn't trust me."

"Well if you want, I can talk to your dad for you and ask him to give you a chance driving his car."

"Nah it's okay James, I'm sure he give me a chance to drive his car one of these days..."

"Not with the way you're driving now," said a familar voice from behind her. Maggie hadn't heard that person walking up behind her, she screamed and jumped, which made the water in the hose spray onto James' face.

"Dad!" Maggie cried, "don't scare me like that."

The person that was standing behind her was indeed her father, James' Driver, "sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Sure you didn't," she said sarcastically. She was talking about some of the other times when her father had snuck up behind her, "now tell me, what is wrong with my driving?"

"Well let's see, you wobble from side to side almost everytime you get behind the wheel, and just the other day, I heard you telling your mother that you nearly drove her car into the ditch - so until you can get over the wobble, I'm not letting you drive my car."

"You almost sound like Gordon talking like that," James muttered quietly.

"I heard that James!" said his Driver. James gasped and quickly subsided into silence, "I just don't want her to hurt herself in my car, it is a lot bigger than her mom's car."

"That's not the reason why you're not letting me drive your car," Maggie said crossly, "you don't me to damage your classic..."

"Young lady, we'll discuss this later," her father said sternly, "right now I got to take James to the yards. We're to take a goods train down to the Dieselworks."

"Why us?" James asked, "you know they don't like it when steam engines come into their yards."

"It's the Fat Controller's orders James, we're to do as we're told. So once Gilbert gets here, we'll be on our way."

"Hey Dad, would it be okay if I come along with you three today?" Maggie asked.

"Well I don't see the harm in it," he answered just as James' fireman arrived, "just keep your temper in control this time. The last time you rode with us, you threw a wrench and a hammer at Sir Handel just because he said something about James' paint."

"I'll try to stay on my behaviour," she muttered.

Although she was kind hearted, Maggie does have a bit of a temper and she will take it out on those who insult her, her parents or even James.

Soon the turntable was set to his berth, the fire had been lit, the Driver opened the regulator and James puffed slowly away from the sheds, muttering crossly to himself, "goods trains, what a life!"

The journey was a bit bumpy all the way to Vicarstown, the silly trucks would not stop holding back on their brakes, "stupid things," James grumbled, "just once I would like to be able to pull a goods train without any trouble."

"There's no chance of that you red kettle," the trucks giggled, "we'll never be good to you!"

"Oh you'll be good alright," Maggie chuckled as she grabbed onto a piece of coal, "especially after I..."

"Put that down right now Margaret!" her father said firmly, "I'm not going to have you upset the trucks when we're close to Vicarstown."

"Fine!" she huffed while dropping the piece of coal, "but you'll probably regret that decision."

Maggie was right, the trucks continued to hold back all the way to the Dieselworks. Which meant that by the time James arrived, he was already seven minutes late.

"Bothersome trucks," James muttered, "hold back on me again and I'll give you such a bumping!"

"James wouldn't have had trouble if I had taught those trucks a lesson," groaned Maggie.

Soon James was rolling up to the main sheds for the Dieselworks, the building was completely empty - apart from Old Happy Hook lifting tools and supplies up to the higher floor.

"Where is everyone?" asked James' fireman.

"They better not be at the Steamworks again," grumbled Maggie, "last time they were there, they caused a great deal of damage, which meant more work for us workers."

James' Driver rolled his eyes, he had heard his daughter grumble like this before.

"Hello?" James called, "is anyone here?"

"Just us!" called a voice from the second level of the main shed. A second later, Paxton and Norman appeared into view. They looked down at James, "oh it's you," sniffed Norman, "what do you want?"

"I'm here to drop off these trucks for your works," James answered firmly.

"Why weren't one of the other diesels sent with those trucks?" Paxton asked crossly.

"It was the Fat Controller's orders, he wanted me to bring the trucks here."

"Fine," sniffed Norman, "just shunt your trucks and get out of our Dieselworks!"

"There's no need to be rude to James," said another voice coming from the right track. It was Sidney, "sorry about them James, they were up late last night and didn't get much sleep. You know how it is."

"I know that feeling all too well," said a different voice.

"Who said that?" Paxton asked, then he added with a chuckle "did another steamer bank you all the way here?"

Maggie stepped down from James' cab with an angry look on her face, "the name is Maggie, I'm the daughter of James' Driver," she said, "now I would like to ask you not to insult my friend here."

"That's enough Margaret!" shouted her father, "I'm ordering you to get back in this cab right now!"

"Stop treating me like a little girl!"

"But that's just what you are," sniggered Paxton, "you're a little girl who doesn't know when to be quiet."

"You know something Pax," Norman sniggered, "I bet you that her bark is worse than her bite."

"Hmm maybe you're right Norman. Like her steaming friend there, she doesn't look tough at all. I bet if she was an engine, she wouldn't be able to pull one truck."

"Not like us diesels," and the two engines started laughing. That was until..."OW!" cried Norman as something smacked him on the nose, "what was that?"

"I should've warned you," said James, "Maggie here doesn't like hearing insulting words and," he added, "her bite_ is _worse than her bark!"

"I'm not tough huh? Well I'll show you!" snapped Maggie. She picked up an empty oil can and threw it hard at Paxton! She then picked up two more empty oil cans and threw them both at the two diesels.

"Stop it!" cried Paxton, "that hurts!"

"Very well I'll stop," Maggie snickered after throwing two more cans at the diesels, "if you both apologize to me and James. Otherwise," she paused as she picked another empty oil can.

"We're sorry, we're sorry," cried the two diesels, "just don't throw anything at us again!"

"Thank you," she smiled and turned back to James and her angry father.

"Well that's one way to stop their teasing," Sidney whispered to James as the red engine reserved out of the shed.

Later at a water tower, Maggie's father scolded her for her actions while they were on their way back with a goods train, "I'm sorry dad, but I don't like it when others scold either me or James, it's just who I am. I would defend you if they insulted you."

Her father sighed, "I know you would, but you can't keep losing your temper like that, you're going to get yourself in trouble - like I did."

"You?" James asked in surprise, "you got yourself in trouble?"

"Yes James, I did get myself in trouble. When I was younger, I used to lose my temper quite like Mar...Maggie does," he corrected himself, which made Maggie gasp. She had never heard her father call her 'Maggie' before. "I would take my temper out on anyone who insulted me or anyone I knew, like my wife or my engine."

"Wow, I never knew that about you," James gasped.

"So what changed you into who you are now?" Maggie asked.

"I learned that there are other ways of telling someone to stop their teasing or insulting words, and that's just asking them to please stop and if that doesn't work, just ignore them."

"Yeah right," snickered one of the trucks behind James' tender, "that never works, especially not with us."

Secretly, James' Driver opened the throttle quickly - which James bump the trucks as they started, "OW! OW! OW!" cried the trucks.

Maggie and James were surprised, "I thought you said..."

"For trucks, I sometimes make an exception," her father said quietly, "now not a word to anyone, especially not the Fat Controller, understood?"

"Understood," James, his fireman and Maggie said in unison as the long goods train headed off for home.


	68. Great Balls of Fire

_**Great Balls of Fire**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

Carl is the 18 year old son of Henry's Driver. Like his friend Maggie, he works alongside the rest of the crew at the Sodor Steamworks. He's also very wise and smart too, and he also knows how to drive engines. He is also a top notched mechanic - he always does a really good job repairing the engines. He works as though as he's been there for years.

One evening, he was working on Murdoch. He was installing a new set of firebars, "good thing you came in when you did Murdoch," he said to the big orange engine, "if you hadn't, you would've lost your firebars out on the main line."

"That's something I don't like thinking about," groaned Murdoch.

"Well you won't have to think about it or worry about it either," said Carl as he climbed out from the pit, "cause your new firebars are in place and you're all set to go."

"That's good," said another voice, it was Murdoch's Driver. He and the fireman had just come in to see how their engine was doing, "cause the Fat Controller wants Murdoch to take a goods train to Vicarstown."

"Well you can take Murdoch to work now," smiled Carl, "he's good to go."

The Driver and fireman smiled, thanked Carl for his hard work, then they climbed into Murdoch's cab.

"Another satisfying day's work is done, time to head off for home." He walked over to his locket, grabbed his jacket and school books, then after saying good night to Maggie and the rest of the Steamworks crew, he walked off to the nearest station.

Normally Carl would drive home in his car, but his car was in the garage for repairs. He didn't mind though, "it feels like ages since I've ridden on a train," he thought happily to himself.

Just as he was arriving at the station, he heard a familar whistle in the distance. He looked in to see Henry the Green Engine coming in with a train of fuel wagons and a flatbed with a large plane engine on it.

"Red signal ahead," called Henry, "we need to stop!"

The Driver heard Henry and carefully applied the brakes, bringing the train to a smooth stop. The Driver checked the timetable, "oh yes, Niki and the express are due through any minute. Ah well, at least this short wait will give you the chance to catch your breath."

"That's a mercy," sighed Henry, who was feeling rather puffed.

Carl walked up to the cab, "hey Dad, I see Henry's got quite a heavy train."

"Indeed he does, we need to take these fuel wagons and jet blower to the Dieselworks. I can understand why they need the fuel, but the jet blower I don't know why they would need that. So tell me, how was your day at the Steamworks?"

"It's busy as usual, lots of engines were coming in today for annual inspections and only two of them needed some repairs. Henry's due for an inspection in a couple of days, am I right?"

"That's right, I am due for an inspection," Henry answered, "I think on that day, the Fat Controller will let me pull the express."

"Lucky engine," smiled Carl, he turned to his father, "is it okay if I ride with you tonight?"

"Sure Carl, climb on in," smiled his father, "just don't cause any trouble at the Dieselworks like your little friend Maggie did the other day."

"I promise that I'll be on my best behaviour," chuckled Carl, remembering what he heard about Maggie's little meet with Norman and Paxton.

It wasn't long before Niki came into view with the express, she slowed to a smooth stop by the other platform. The signals changed, showing Henry that the line was clear. With a cheerful blast of his whistle, Henry puffed away with his long goods train.

All went well throughout the journey to Vicarstown, the trucks behaved well and Henry's wheels gripped the rails splendidly. All would've been well, had it not been for one engine's carelessness...

Spencer was puffing along with a goods train, he was in the middle of this long train. He was cross, the Duke and Duchess had loaned him to the Fat Controller's railway for the day while they were busy elsewhere, "an engine like me should not be pulling trucks," he grumbled, "I should be resting near the summer house."

"Oh quite your whining," said the trucks, "we're not too fond of working with you either!"

"Well at least we can agree on something," grumbled Spencer. "Just don't mess up my paintwork, I have an image to uphold you know."

He was so busy boasting about how special he was that wasn't paying to the signals up ahead. His Driver and fireman noticed it and tried to slow Spencer down, but the silly engine would not reply to their control - he puffed even faster, "slow down Spencer!" they cried.

But Spencer would not listen - it might've been better if he had.

Henry was just ahead, puffing slowly ahead with that long train of his. He was humming a little tune to himself. Then without warning - BANG! Henry jerked voilently forward, "what was that?" he cried.

There was no reply from the cab, "ah what's going on?" he asked.

He felt on a hand on the brakes, it was Carl's hand. He applied the brakes and brought Henry to a stop. Once stopped, he looked out to see what had happened - he gasped, "oh my gosh!"

"What?" Henry asked.

The fireman looked out, "it's Spencer, he ran into the back of our train..." he gulped, "and that jet blower we got on the back...it's up in flames!"

He was right. The leading truck had smashed right into the flatbed with the jet blower on it and now the whole thing was up in flames. Worst still, when Spencer's train had run smack into Henry's train, the Driver had been forced forward - he had banged his head and now he was out like a light.

"Bother that Spencer!" grumbled Henry.

"Never mind about Spencer," called out Carl, "we got bigger problems than that boastful show-off. If those flames reach the fuel tankers, then they'll blow us sky high." Now Henry was worried. Carl looked over to the fireman, "I need your shunting pole, if I can get over there quickly, I might be able to seperate the last fuel tanker from the jet blower. Watch for my signal and help my dad."

"Right," said the fireman. He moved the Driver next to the coal bunker out of the way while Carl ran towards the trucks. Spencer had already been moved out of the way, with only some of his trucks lying about beside the line.

The flames were very hot, Carl had to be very careful. Using the shunting pole, he reached it out towards the couplings - his first few attempts to uncouple the trucks didn't work out well. As he was going for his fourth attempt, he smelled something..."that's fuel!" He was right, the fuel truck in front of the jet blower was leaking fuel badly and the flames were getting close to the tanker.

Being very careful, Carl leaned the shunter's pole over to the couplings one more time - they budged and then after lifting off the coupling, they finally came off.

"Move Henry away! Quickly!" Carl shouted and waved to the fireman. The fireman responded with a wave and then moved Henry and the entire train away - which was a good thing too, cause the flames had now reached the back of the jet blower. With Henry and the tankers far away from the fire, Carl ran back to the cab, got out his mobile phone and called for help.

Soon Belle and Flynn arrived, they gasped at the sight that awaited them, "I have never seen a fire that intense before," gasped Belle.

"Focus here Belle," said Flynn. "Aim your water cannons at the jet blower! I'll deal with the fuel!" The two fire fighting engines aimed their water cannons, their crews turned the taps and water 'whoosed' out.

The fight aganist the fire was intense, "I'm definetly going to be in trouble with the Duke and Duchess and the Fat Controller when they find out," Spencer groaned.

After a quarter of an hour, the fire was finally put out, at around the same time that Henry's Driver finally woke up, "what's going on?" he asked. Carl explained everything to his father. His dad smiled, "well done my son, you did a good job tonight, I'm very proud of you."

"We still got two problems though," said the fireman, "the leaking tanker and the fuel on the rails and ballast."

One of the firefighters came up to speak to them, "you don't need to worry about the tanker, it's finally stopped leaking. But the fuel on the rails and ballast is another problem..."

"Maybe not," said Carl, "I remember seeing boxes full of laundry detergent in one of Spencer's derailed trucks, maybe we could use it on the fuel, it might help to prevent another fire."

"Laundry detergent huh?" asked the firefighter, "well...I guess it's a worth a shot. Although I've never heard of anyone using detergent on fuel before. Let's go."

And with that, Carl walked with the firefighter towards the derailed trucks while the fireman stayed behind to keep an eye on his friend.

Sure enough, just as Carl had said, there were boxes full of laundry detergent. Everyone got to work, they opened the boxes and put as much detergent as could onto the fuel until they felt that there was no danger anymore. Harvey soon came to help clear up the mess while Henry, his crew and Carl left with the train for the next station, after making a call to the Fat Controller.

They soon arrived at the Dieselworks with the fuel tankers and the damaged jet blower, "sorry about the damage," said Henry to Den and Dart, "but we had a little accident on the main line."

"Ah well," said Den, "these things happen, we were going to..."

"We were going to scrap that thing anyways and maybe use some of the parts later on for other mechinery," said Dart.

"At least no one was seriously hurt in that accident," added Den.

Dart made no reply, that _was_ what he was going to say. After Henry had been uncoupled from the tankers, he puffed on his way back to the sheds, "Carl," his father spoke to him, "how would you like to drive Henry home?"

"You mean it?" he asked.

"Yes my son, you deserve it."

"Well...thanks dad." His dad stepped away from the controls and Carl walked forward towards them. He drove Henry home perfectly.

Of course Spencer was punished when the Fat Controller, the Duke and Duchess found out that his carelessness was the main reason for the fire. As a punishment, he was to work at the Central Island Quarry for two weeks. The Fat Controller also thanked Carl for saving Henry and the fuel train. And for the next few weeks, all anyone could talk about was the incident and how the Laundry detergent was used to keep the fire out.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by the real life event of where a Nascar racing car ran out of control and ran smack into a jet blower, causing it to go up in flames. Luckily the two drivers escaped unharmed. Flames followed the fuel down the track, buring at a really hot temperature. When the fire was put out, race track officials placed Tide Laundry detergent on the track to help prevent slipping and from causing the fire to start up again and the race was able to continue. This event too place in February 2012 at the Daytona 500.


	69. Bust My Cylinder!

_**Bust My Cylinder!**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

At the Sodor Steamworks is a 19 year old blacksmith who is the son of Gordon's Driver. His name is Geoffry, but he prefers being called 'Geoff'. He's been working in the Sodor Steamworks for quite a few years now, but like his friends Maggie and Carl, he works as though he's been there for a real long time.

One wet and rainy day, Geoff was working on a new siderod for Arthur. His siderods had snapped off after slipping voilently a couple of days ago, luckily the big tank engine wasn't going too fast when they snapped, so there was no damage done to him. Most of the parts had been made, all that was needed was the main siderod.

"I'm almost done here Arthur!" Geoff called, "once I'm done here and these are installed, you can go back to work."

Within a matter of minutes, Arthur's brand new siderod was finally ready. With a little help from Maggie, both she and Geoff worked together in installing the new siderods.

"Alright, we're all done here," said Geoff, "Carl! Fire Arthur up and give him a test run."

Carl didn't need telling twice, he climbed into the cab and lit Arthur's fire. Once lit, Carl drove Arthur out of the shops up to the sliding table, then back into the shops.

"Did anything come loose?" Carl called out from the cab.

"Nope, nothing came loose," said Maggie, "every piece is still in place, I'd say Arthur's just about ready to go back to work."

"Right after we've finished some minute inspections with him," said Geoff, "then we'll call for his crew to come and take him back to the fishing village."

While Carl did his work in the cab, Maggie went into the pit underneath Arthur and Geoff made sure that all the nuts and bolts were connected properly. As the trio worked, they heard a loud whistle coming from the other side of the shops, followed by a loud bang!

"What was that?" asked Maggie.

"It's Gordon," said Arthur, "he just arrived and now he's bumping trucks."

Arthur was right, Gordon was bumping the trucks together. Earlier that morning, the Fat Controller had told Gordon to take a goods train to Vicarstown and bring back another goods train back to the Big Station at Knapford. Gordon wasn't happy to be working with trucks, and having to pull them on a rainy day certainly didn't help improve his temper.

"And people say that I have a temper," chuckled Maggie.

"Hey Gordon, be careful with those trucks!" called Arthur, "keep bumping them like that and you're bound to break them into pieces." Gordon heard, but payed no attention and continued to bash the trucks.

To make Gordon crosser, he had to shunt his own trucks outside to be coupled up to his goods train waiting in the siding.

"I wish I was pulling the express today," Gordon grumbled unhappily.

Geoff tried to cheer up the big blue engine, "have a good trip Gordon! And be careful, the rain will probably make the rails slippery!" Geoff's words were drowned out by Gordon's loud puffing and the heavy raindrops that came pouring down.

Gordon bashed his trucks into the train, "ow! Ow! Ow!" cried the trucks, "be careful you big blue brute!"

Gordon just grumbled, "the sooner I'm done with this job the better." After being coupled up to the trucks, the guard blew his whistle and Gordon set off for the main line, slipping at first just getting started.

Gordon was soon pounding along the line, but he was having trouble seeing as the rain poured down hard into his face, "Ahh!" he cried, "I wish I could see!"

Neither Gordon nor his crew knew that something had come loose on one of his cylinders - they were due to find out soon though.

As they were passing the Skarloey Railway Sheds, there came a loud bang from Gordon's left hand - suddenly, the whole train came to a complete stop.

"What was that?" asked Smudger as he was being prepared in his shed.

His Driver looked out the window and saw Gordon out there, stopped near the sheds, "looks like something is wrong with Gordon," he said.

Gordon's Driver and fireman were shaken but not hurt. They climbed down from the cab and walked over to Gordon's left hand side - they were in for a surprise and so was Smudger's fireman.

The working core plug had come loose and had imploded on the left hand cylinder, and now a barrel and several pieces of broken twisted metal were found on the second line and on Gordon's left side was a giant hole where the barrel should've been.

"Oh wow," exclaimed Gordon's Driver, "this has never happened before."

"Maybe not on Sodor," said Smudger's fireman, "but it has happened on another railway when another steam engine's left hand cylinder imploded."

Gordon's Driver sighed, "Well that the day's work done, we got to get Gordon back to the Steamworks." He turned to Smudger's fireman, "can you call the Steamworks and ask them to send help? I'm going to phone the Fat Controller and inform him about this."

"Sure thing," said Smudger's fireman and ran off to the shed to get his mobile phone. As for Gordon, he groaned unhappily.

At the Steamworks, Arthur was just about ready to go back to the fishing village line when the call came in. The Works manager came out and stopped Arthur before he could leave, "Gordon's left hand cylinder has imploded near the Skarloey Railway sheds," he said, "I need you to go and help tow Gordon back here."

"Yes sir," said Arthur, "was anyone hurt?"

"Thankfully not," said the manager, he then turned to Maggie, Carl and Geoff, "I want you three to go with Arthur and his crew, just in case."

"Yes sir," said the three teenagers in unison. They climbed into Arthur's cab, which is a lot bigger than some of the other tank engines on Sodor, then the maroon tank engine puffed off to find Gordon.

It wasn't long before they found the tail end of Gordon's train. Geoff went up to see how much damage was caused while Arthur's crew coupled their engine up to the train and towed it away for another engine to take away.

Even Geoff could not believe the damage that was caused. After the shock wore off, he did a small inspection on Gordon's left hand side, "hmm, I don't think we'll be able to move Gordon unless we removed alot of parts from him, except for the coupling rod, that's fine."

So when Arthur returned, Geoff, Carl and Maggie worked together in removing alot of parts. Then once they were done, Arthur buffered up to Gordon's tender and was coupled up. The twisted metal, the barrel and the parts that had been removed were placed inside the cab. When they were ready, Geoff signalled to Arthur's crew that were ready to go.

"Ah well, look on the bright side of things Gordon," said Maggie.

"What bright side?" Gordon grumbled.

"You won't be pulling goods trains for a while," she answered. Gordon just grunted and remained silent throughout the trip back to the Steamworks.

The Fat Controller was waiting at the Steamworks when the engines and crews arrived, like Geoff and the crews before, the Fat Controller gasped at the damage caused.

"Not to worry sir," said Geoff, "we can have Gordon all fixed up before you know it."

Geoff was right, over the next few days, the Steamworks crew worked very hard in overhauling Gordon's entire left hand side. Geoff and the blacksmiths especially, sometimes they worked late into the night making all the new parts Gordon needed.

"Where did these parts come from?" Maggie asked one morning.

"You can thank Geoff for that," said one of the other workmen, "he and the other blacksmiths worked hard last night making these parts."

"That's our Geoffrey," Maggie smiled over to Carl, "always determined to get the job done." Carl happily agreed.

Thanks to the determination and teamwork from all the workers, Gordon was soon repaired as good as new. Geoff got the honors of lighting Gordon's fire and give him an official test run. Gordon ran smoothly up and down the tracks and nothing came loose, "Gordon's definetly ready to go back to work!" said Geoff.

"Great," smiled Gordon for the first time in days, "I feel so great that I could probably pull a goods train all the way to Vicarstown."

"Good to hear," said a familar voice. Standing close by and watching the test runs was the Fat Controller, "I need an engine to take a goods train to Vicarstown and since you're fully operational Gordon, you can take the train."

"Me and my big mouth," Gordon muttered under his breath. Luckily the Fat Controller hadn't heard what Gordon had said, mostly because he was thanking Geoff and the workmen for all their hardwork.

"Ah well Gordon, you can't always get what you want," said Geoff, "you'll get to pull the express again...soon," he added. Gordon said nothing, he just grumbled under his breath.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by the real life event on the Mid Hants Railway during the Spring Gala 2009 when BR Class 5 #73096's left hand cylinder imploded due to the working core plug coming loose. They couldn't move the engine till after all the parts on the left hand side, except for the Coupling Rods, were removed.


	70. Finding the North Western Star

_**Finding the North Western Star**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

Across the bridge connecting Sodor with the Other Railway, Edward the Blue Engine was puffing along with a set of fancy set of coaches. He wasn't alone though, along with his crew, a young woman was riding along in his cab. Her name was Edna, the sixteen year old daughter of Edward's Driver's sister and Edward's fireman's brother, which means both of Edward's crew members were her uncles.

She mostly works down at the Steamworks with her friends Maggie, Carl and Geoff, but when she heard that Edward was going away on several railtours, she took some time off work to join Edward. Edna is quite a friendly girl who loves to make new friends wherever she goes and unlike Maggie, she likes to wear skirts and dresses.

Whenever Edward went, people came by the dozens to see him in operation.

"They don't come by the dozens to see us in operation," sniffed one of the Other Railway's Diesels, "I'll never understand what they see in this old clap trap."

"Neither do I," said a second diesel, "if you ask me, that old piece of scrap iron should be on the bottom of a scrap heap and not running railtours which distrubs our timetables."

Edward had heard, but unlike most of the other Sodor engines, he didn't snap at the diesels, he simply puffed into the station with the railtour.

"Another perfect run Edward, well done once again," smiled his Driver.

"Thank you sir," Edward replied back happily.

Once the passengers were off the train, Edward took the coaches back to the yards and then went off to the sheds. Making repeated journeys to and from Sodor would make Edward late with his railtour trains, so it was decided that Edward would rest in the sheds of the Other Railway until the day he was ready to return home.

Some of the diesels from the Other Railway made him feel welcome, as for the others - not so much.

"If I had it my way," said one of the big main line diesels, "I would tow that piece of scrap metal to the smelter's yard like so many other diesel engines have done so in the past."

"He's just a waste of space," sniffed another diesel.

Edna was still with Edward, she was giving him an official checkover. She was listening to the entire conversation, "the nerve of some engines these days," she groaned.

"You will not harm Edward," said one of the friendlier diesels, "he's a guest in our shed and we do not harm guests."

"Besides," added a second diesel, "it's quite nice having a steam engine to talk to. I've learned alot about the old days that I never knew before."

"Whatever," sniffed the second rude diesel, then he spoke rudely to Edward, "you're lucky to be working for that Sir Topham Hatt, otherwise you would be at the smelter's yard like that other engine that came here long before you."

Both Edna and Edward raised an eyebrow, "what other engine?" they asked in unison.

"I don't remember the name of the engine, but I know it came to our railway years ago. His controller was suppose to come collect him, but he never returned so the engine was left here to rot until we took it away to be dismentaled."

"How long was the engine left in this shed?" Edna asked.

The first unfriendly diesel was quiet, he was trying to remember, "ah...roughly forty years I think," he answered, "but I'm sure the dark green engine is long gone now, so you won't be able to save him."

"You never know," Edna said mysteriously.

A little later, she was talking with her uncles about the earlier conversation, "it's strange you should mention an engine borrowed and never returned," said Charlie, Edward's Driver, "cause I remember from my father that the Fat Director once sent a steam engine away for what was suppose to be a short period of time, but the engine never returned so everyone thought it was scrapped."

"Do you think that engine those diesels were talking about is the engine your father spoke of?" Edna asked.

"It's quite possible," Charlie nodded.

"You heard those diesels though," said Sidney, Edward's fireman, "that engine was taken off to the smelter's yard years ago, so there's no way it could've escaped the gas axe."

"Well you never know, it might still be there," said Edna, "if only we had the chance to look into the yards."

Little did anyone know that their chance would come sooner than expected.

The following next day which was Edward's last day on the Other Railway, after completing another successful run with the railtour, Edward parked his special coaches into the sidings and was just about to puff off to collect a goods train when the yard manager came up to speak with him and his crew.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could take some old broken down trucks to the smelter's yard?" he asked, "the diesel that was suppose to collect them is delayed with another job. I would suggest waiting, but we can't leave those sidings blocked."

"Say no more," said Edward's Driver, "we'll take those trucks away for you."

"Thank you very much," said the yard manager and he told Edward's crew of where the trucks were.

After coupling up to the trucks, Edward towed them all to the smelter's yard. When he arrived, a yard worker told them of where they could leave the trucks, "are you also going to leave that blue powder puff with us too?" he asked rudely.

"No!" Edna, Charlie and Sidney snapped in unison.

"Just checking," grumbled the worker.

While Edward did his shunting, Edna took a look around to see if she could find the engine, but she wasn't having much luck at all. Almost all of the steam engines she saw had been broken up years ago and now were just sitting scrap heaps.

After he was done shunting, Edward reserved away from the smelter's yard. He hadn't gone far before Edna cried out, "I found him! I found our engine!" The Driver heard and applied Edward's brakes, but Edna had jumped out before Edward came to a complete stop.

"Wait for us Edna!" cried the fireman, "oh my brother will never forgive me if anything happens to her." He jumped down from the cab and chased after the young lady. Once Edward had stopped completely, his Driver ran after them too.

"It is that engine, I just know it!" cried Edna, "it's dark green just like the diesels said."

The fireman finally caught up with her, he looked up to the big engine, "it might be, but we don't know for sure if this is the engine that used to belong to the Fat Director."

Edward's Driver came up. He climbed up one of the ladders on the side of the engine and rubbed the dirt and dust away from the name plate, "it's that engine alright!" he said, "the engine my father told me about was called 'North Western Star'."

"And what's the name of this engine?" asked Edna.

"North Western Star. Good thing you were looking around Edna, we have found our Island's lost treasure. Sidney, I think we better go speak with the scrapyard manager and see if we can get North Western Star out of here. Edna, I want you to keep an eye on Edward."

"Yes uncle," she said.

"Edward?" A voice asked from close by, it was coming from the engine, "as in North Western Railway's No. 2?"

"That would be me," Edward called out, "it's good to see you again Star, it's been a long time hasn't it?"

"Too long old friend." While the two engines and Edna talked to one another, the Driver and fireman spoke with the scrapyard manager and after talking for so long, they finally came out to see the engines and Edna.

"It wasn't easy," said the Driver, "that scrapyard manager was stubborn and wouldn't give up North Western Star. That was until we told him that he's a part of the North Western railway and that he belongs to the Fat Controller, well he changed his mind and said we can take him back with us."

"Did you hear that Star?" called Edward, "you're coming home with us!"

North Western Star's eyes popped wide open and for the first time in years, a smile appeared on his face, "home," he said happily, "it'll be wonderful to return to my home rails again."

It wasn't long before Edward had marshalled North Western Star into his goods train, then with a little help from Deltic, the long goods train set off across the bridge and back onto the Fat Controller's railway.

The Fat Controller was waiting at the Vicarstown station when the train arrived, "Hello Edward," he smiled, "I trust you, your crew and Edna had a wonderful time on the Other Railway."

"We did indeed sir," smiled Edward, "it was quite wonderful, but still I'm happy to be home again. Speaking of which," he added, "we brought something back." The Fat Controller looked at him confused.

Edna stepped down from the cab, "follow me sir, I'll show you what Edward means."

The Fat Controller followed the young lady till they came face to face with a dirty dusty engine. The Fat Controller stared at the engine for less than a minute before realising, "goodness me, it's North Western Star!"

"Yes it is," smiled the Great Western star engine, "it's nice to meet you sir."

"I thought he was lost," the Fat Controller said still in shock, "from what I was told from my father that North Western Star was sent away to help with a locomotive crisis on the Other Railway, but he was never sent back and so everyone thought he was scrapped."

"Well I wasn't sir, I was merely left in the sheds for the day someone came to get me," said North Western Star, "but all the records of my years on the North Western or on the Other Railway were destoryed in a fire, so they had no idea of where I came from and what was worst was that a foolish inspector said 'without paperwork, this engine cannot run' and so they left me in the sheds until those diesels moved me to the smelter's yard. I was actually meant to be broken up today, but thankfully I was saved by Edward, his crew and Edna. I tell you sir, I'm glad to be back where I belong."

"So am I," smiled the Fat Controller, "Edward, Charlie, Sidney and Edna, I'm proud of all of you, thanks to you, North Western Star is back with us," he turned back to the Great Western Star Class engine, "we'll have you repaired at our Steamworks and then we'll put you back in operation."

"Oh thank you sir, that will be great."

So once the trucks had been arranged into their proper sidings, Edward coupled up to North Western Star and towed him away to the Steamworks, right after thanking Deltic for all his help.

Later on that same day, the Fat Controller spoke to the Other Railway Controller about Edward and Edna's find, "oh I'm so sorry about this sir," said the Other Railway Controller, "I had no idea that was your engine, my father never told me this before he retired and there was no paperwork so I just assumed. Again I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused, and please apologize to North Western Star on behave of the whole Other Railway network."

At the Steamworks that evening, North Western Star was cheered to the echo when he arrived, "Suffering Sodor," gasped Victor, "I never thought I would ever see this legendary engine in our Steamworks. Welcome North Western Star."

"Thank you very much," North Western Star smiled, "I wouldn't be here had it not been for Edward, his crew and Edna, they were who found me," he looked down to Edna, "thank you very much."

"You're welcome Star," she said, "I'm just happy to have helped and now I, along with the rest of the Steamworks crew will work together to bring you back into service."

The Steamworks crew and Victor all agreed to that. North Western Star smiled happily, "that will be great, thank you all of you," and with that said, he drifted off to a peaceful sleep, dreaming of the early days on the North Western Railway.

**Author's Note:**

North Western Star's short story of the inspector saying he cannot run without the proper paperwork is based on the real life event of ex-Canadian Pacific tank engine #47 when it started it's second career as a passenger excursion locomotive. All of it's papers were lost in a fire and an inspector said that without the paperwork, the engine cannot run. Since then, the engine hasn't run, but can still be found in the Steamtown Railway collection today.


	71. Diesel and the Dragon

_**Diesel and the Dragon**_

One autum's evening, a storm had come to the Island of Sodor. It came with heavy rains and strong winds, lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Sidney, the blue Dieselworks diesel was trying to sleep, but was woken with a start when he heard a loud boom of thunder.

"AHH!" he cried.

Diesel smirked at Sidney, "are you scared of a little storm Sidney?" he asked in his devious way, "you're giving us diesels a bad name you know that?"

"Sorry Diesel, I didn't mean to shout," said Sidney, "it's just that crackle of thunder that took me by surprise."

"Or maybe the reason you shouted there was because you are scared of a thunderstorm," Diesel chuckled. "You're a silly engine just like that Henry and Percy. I on the other hand am never scared."

"Oh really?" Norman raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Diesel said firmly, "I'm not scared of anything, not thunder, lightning, rain or even..."

"A Dragon?" Dart asked curiously.

"Yeah sure, even a Dragon. I'm not scared of anything, unlike that silly Percy."

"So if you met a dragon," Norman asked cheekily, "you wouldn't shout out in fear like Percy did?"

"Absolutely not, like I just told you, I'm not scared of anything."

Paxton just sniggered, "we'll believe that when we see it." Sidney just rolled his eyes, he had heard this kind of talk before. He sighed and tried to go back to sleep.

The following next morning, Diesel was taken to the yards of the Dieselworks where he collected some empty trucks and rumbled away for the yards of the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. These were to help carry the debris from last night's storm.

Harvey was waiting at the Search and Rescue Centre, having a little chat with Ferdinand as Diesel arrived.

"That was quite a storm we had last night wasn't it?" Harvey asked.

"Indeed it was," agreed Ferdinand, "the storm was so firece that it battered the coast track back on Misty Island. Bash and Dash are back on Misty Island right now checking to make sure none of the tracks were damaged."

"There's probably a good reason you weren't sent to do the job," snickered Diesel, "I bet it's because you'll probably take another dip into the water."

Ferdinand and Harvey stared firmly at Diesel, "it's not funny Diesel," said Harvey, "that accident was very serious."

"If you had seen the damage caused during that accident," added Ferdinand's Driver, "you wouldn't be laughing at your joke."

Diesel just rolled his eyes, he wasn't taking much notice of what was said. The Rescue centre manager came forth, "I just got a call that Alice's little dog has gone missing, so as you go about your jobs today, remember to keep an eye out for the little dog. Alice and her parents are quite worried about the dog."

"Don't worry sir," said Harvey, "we'll keep a good look out for the dog."

"Same here," agreed Ferdinand.

"I think that's the first time I haven't heard you say 'That's right'," snickered Diesel. Again, firm stares were pointed at Diesel, but he payed no attention. He was already backing his trucks into the siding for Harvey to collect. After being uncoupled, he rumbled off to collect some empty ballast trucks needed at the yards of Knapford.

On the way to Knapford is Henry's tunnel, the very tunnel Henry had been shut up in all those years ago. Originally the tunnel which Henry had been shut up in had only one track, but to help keep up with the heavy workloads, the workmen enlarged the tunnel mouth and made it double tracked instead of single.

Diesel was just about ready to enter the tunnel when he was flagged down by a workman, "oh what's wrong now?" Diesel growled.

"I don't know," said his Driver, "we'll soon find out," he grabbed for the brake handle and slowed his diesel shunter down. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Last night's storm had left some debris across the tracks on the other side of this tunnel, we're just clearing out it now, but it might take a while. I suggest you take the other tunnel mouth."

"Oh great," Diesel groaned, "that means I'll be late and the Fat Controller will shout at me for being a late engine again."

"Can't be helped Diesel," said his Driver, "come on let's go back to the junction."

The junction luckily wasn't too far away from the tunnel. So in less than a minute, Diesel and his train were on the other line leading to the other tunnel. Before entering though, the Driver got out his torch and looked into the tunnel to see if the way was clear for Diesel and his train.

"All clear Diesel, let's get going."

Before they could move into the tunnel, they heard a loud growl coming from inside the tunnel.

"What was that?" Diesel's Driver asked in surprise. Smoke emerged out of the tunnel, followed by the loud growl. Diesel's driver opened the throttle, but Diesel would not move, "come on Diesel, we can't be late with our train."

"Ah...right," Diesel said quietly. He advanced forward...the growling noise grew louder and louder. All of the sudden, Diesel stopped moving just inches outside of the tunnel.

"What's the matter now?" Diesel's Driver asked. He jumped down from the cab and walked up to the front, "Diesel, why are you playing up now of..." He didn't finish as he saw a look of terror in Diesel's eyes. "What are you looking scared for?"

"That...that..." Diesel was too stunned to say anything.

Just then, Edward arrived with a passenger train, he was coming along on the other line. He was stopped by the workman, who told him and his crew that the tunnel was closed off. Just before backing up, Edward saw the look on Diesel's face, "hello Diesel, what seems to be the matter?"

"Dra...drag...something's in the tunnel," he said with a shaky voice, "I...I..."

"Diesel's too scared to go into the tunnel," said his Driver, "and from what he's trying to say, I think he thinks there's a dragon in there, just because we heard some growling noises and saw smoke coming out. Can you go in and find out what it really is?"

"Of course we will," said Edward's Driver.

Once he had been switched over to the other line, Edward puffed into Henry's tunnel very slowly. Before entering, Edward's fireman had turned on his lamps to help Edward see what was inside the tunnel. The growling noise grew louder and louder, smoke bellowed from the other end of the tunnel. Edward however remained calm as he rolled further into the dark tunnel.

Just then, they heard a familar sound - it didn't sound like a dragon, it sounded more like a dog.

"Well I'll be," exclaimed Edward less than a minute later, "there's Diesel's Dragon." His Driver and fireman looked out the cab and saw just what the dragon really was, "it's Alice's dog."

"Well by golly Edward, you're right, it is Alice's dog," said his Driver, "we were told earlier that Alice's dog got lost in last night's storm."

"Oh the poor little thing," said the fireman, "it must be scared of it's new surrondings, probably the reason it's growling - that and being so far away from home."

"Well let's get the little dog out of here and take it back to High Farm," Edward said kindly. Then very quietly, he whispered in a calm way, "come here boy, it's okay, there's no need to be scared." The dog was already familar with Edward mostly because the blue engine makes several trips to High Farm. It walked slowly up to Edward, sniffed him a bit and then jumped happily into the cab.

With Alice's dog in the cab, Edward puffed slowly out of the tunnel where he found where the smoke was coming from. It was actually dust from the debris the workmen were clearing away. Edward gave several toots of his whistle to let Diesel know that the tunnel was clear.

Diesel emerged in a short while, "here's your dragon Diesel," said Edward, "it was just Alice's dog and the smoke was actually dust. So you see, there's nothing to be scared of."

"Ah...who said I was scared?" growled Diesel, "I wasn't scared, I just didn't want to...ah, scare the little thing you know."

"Of course Diesel," Edward said with a small smile, "Now I must be going, I have to try to make up for lost time, then we'll return the dog to High Farm. Speaking of making up for lost time, you better get going too, Donald and Douglas need those trucks."

"Yeah sure Edward," Diesel said quietly and rumbled quickly away. He hoped that the story would not spread.

But it did, the story was spread like wildfire and soon it reached Paxton and Norman at the Dieselworks. When Diesel returned later that evening, the two diesels took it upon themselves to tease him.

"Oh look," sniggered Norman, "it's Diesel the brave engine who said he wasn't afraid of anything."

"That's not what I heard," chuckled Paxton, "I heard he was too scared to go into Henry's tunnel because he thought there was a real dragon in there."

"No?" Norman said, pretending to gasp in surprise, "and here I thought you said you weren't scared of anything Diesel. What happened?"

"Maybe you're not as brave as you sounded," added Paxton cheekily and the two diesels burst into laughter.

Diesel just growled under his breath and scuttled into his shed without another word.


	72. Vincent

_**Vincent**_

_**Special Thanks to Turdy1 and D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

There are several quarries on Sodor, but one of the busiest quarries is the Central Island Rock Quarry. Rocks are blasted out of the rockface, then it's loaded into trucks for the engines to take away. When the quarry was being opened, Mavis, the china clay twins and Fergus worked hard to make sure everything was ready for the grand opening.

Since then, the quarry has been busy with engines coming in every day to collect the stone trains. Sometimes their trains would be ready for them to take away, but at other times the trucks would be in the wrong places or not loaded at all and the engines have to waste time getting their trains ready, which often makes them late getting back to their jobs. Mavis, Bill, Ben and Fergus often came by to help when they could, but they were often needed at their own worksites and couldn't be at the Central Island Rock Quarry all the time.

The Fat Controller knew this and had already made plans to sort out this problem...

At the Steamworks, sitting beside North Western Star was a small black tender engine. This engine's name was Vincent, he came complete with a plow at the front, a big bell sat on top of the boiler and had a five chimed steam whistle. But what was unique about this engine was that it had a cab in the middle of it's boiler instead of near the end of the boiler like most tender engines do. He also had a number underneath the window of his cab, it was 774.

Vincent was never lonely, he had the Steamworks crew to talk to and the occassional few engines that came in for repairs or overhauls.

On the day before he was ready to go to work, Benjamin, the young son of BoCo's Driver, who was taking time off from working at the Dieselworks, was helping to do some last minute jobs on the engine while Vincent and North Western Star talked.

"So which railroad did you used to work on before coming to Sodor?" Star asked.

"I worked on the Jersey Central Railway in America," Vincent answered, "I often worked on the commuter trains along with the other engines of my class, Camelbacks as we called. Sometimes though we often took freight trains...or goods trains as you call them. Still it didn't matter what job we did, we worked very hard to get the job done."

"Now that's something I like hearing," called Benjamin, "that's something we can all agree on around here."

"Indeed," agreed Maggie as she was helping to install the new buffers on the back of Vincent's tender.

Geoff spoke up next, "do you know a Pennsylvania K4 engine named Hank?" he asked.

"Hank?" Vincent's eyes popped wide open with surprise, "well yes I know Hank, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Jersey Central often shared sections of tracks, so we at the Jersey Central were good friends with the Pennsy engines. Is that old son of a gun working here on Sodor?"

"Yep, he is," Geoff nodded.

"Well stars and stripes," exclaimed Vincent, "I never thought I would ever get the chance to see the old boy again."

"Well you'll be seeing him and the other engines when you get out to work," said Benjamin, "you're in much better shape now than when you were first brought into the Steamworks, so I've been told."

"How long were you out of service?" Star asked.

"For over fifty years," the Camelback engine answered, "I was orginally sent to the dreaded scrapyards to be cut up, but luckily I had been left in a siding and completely forgotten about," Vincent sighed unhappily, "I can't say the same though for the other Camelbacks, all but myself and some other engines were spared from the cutter's torch, or gas axe as you would call it. I was happy to have not been scrapped, but I was overall worried that I would never run again."

Star was quiet, he knew what it was like to worry about running ever again.

"I thought I would always be stuck in the scrapyards, until a stout gentleman arrived one day. I later found out it was Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat Controller as I heard some engines and people call him, he was on vacation and looking for a new engine to help at that Central Island Quarry. He was quite surprised to see me still in one piece...well, sort of," Vincent muttered quietly.

"Years on that lonely siding made me look like a wreck," he continued, "but he saw potential in me and after looking me over, he went to speak with the scrapyard manager and when he came out, he was smiling broadly..."

"Because he had bought you right?" Maggie interupted.

"Yes, he had bought me. He told me that once I had been redesigned to British loading gauge, had buffers instead and had been restored, I could work at the Central Island Quarry. I was just so happy to have been saved and given a second chance."

"I know the feeling," smiled North Western Star, who was happy to be given his second chance.

Edna was the next to speak up, "out of all the jobs you used to do on the Jersey Central, what was one of your favourite jobs?"

Vincent smiled a huge smile, "need you ask, it was the passenger runs, especially those that met up with the Pennsy's passenger trains like 'The Blue Comet' and 'The Boardway Limited'. I loved roaring threw the countryside with a train load of coaches behind me full of happy passengers. Those were the good days."

"You must've been an increibele sight running along on the tracks," said Star.

"I guess you could say that, but the fun wasn't going to last as I was to be retired in 1955. I was given the chance to pull one more train, I was a little bit happy, but all the same I was a little bit sad. People came by the dozens to ride on my train and others took my picture or filmed me as I rattled on with the train," Vincent closed his eyes remembering that day. A small tear poured down from his right eye and burst on his buffer.

"Are you okay Vincent?" Edna asked kindly.

"Yeah I'm okay," the Camelback engine answered, "I'm just thinking back to when the run was done and I was told I was going to be scrapped."

"How sad," said Maggie, "and it's all because of all those diesels, they're all devils!" she added fiercely.

"Not all of those diesels are bad Maggie," Carl spoke up, "I mean there's BoCo, Daisy, Mavis, Deltic, Dan, Rusty, Salty, Derek, Den, Dart, Sidney...the list just goes on and on, there are plenty of kind hearted diesels."

"I know that, I don't mind those diesels, but I still have deep suspicions' about those other diesels."

"Same old Maggie," Geoff whispered to Benjamin while rolling his eyes.

The Steamworks crew continued with their work while Star and Vincent talked about their old lines and the work they used to do.

It was nearly dark by the time the steam tests were finally ready to begin. Benjamin had been given the honors of lighting Vincent's fire. Every worker had their fingers crossed. Victor, Kevin and North Western Star waited anxiously.

It was slow going for a start, but soon Vincent's fire was glowing brightly and Vincent had a good head of steam.

"So far so good," said Benjamin, "we're ready for the first run."

Vincent's new Driver opened the Regulator, then slowly wheel turn by wheel turn, Vincent moved out of the Steamworks, "Ahh!" Vincent cried, "it's good to be back!"

"He's moving! He's moving!" Maggie cried, there was a loud chrous of cheers and whistle blowing from Victor.

Vincent rolled out of the Steamworkers, puffed along the line for a short distance, then puffed back to the Steamworks, still smiling. "It's taken us years to restore Vincent," Maggie smiled, "and now after all that hard work, he's ready to go to the Central Island Rock Quarry."

"Tomorrow young lady, it's very late," chuckled the works manager, "in the morning, I'll give the Fat Controller a call. In the meantime, go home and get some rest, all of you, you deserve it after all the hard work you've done."

"Thank you sir," said the Steamworks crew in unison.

After parking Vincent beside North Western Star, the crew dropped the fire and then left with the Steamworks crew. Vincent was so happy, "I'm looking forward to my first day's work tomorrow..." He didn't say anymore, because he had closed his eyes and went off to sleep.

The next morning, the Fat Controller came to see Vincent. He arrived just as his crew were bringing him out of the Steamworks, giving him one more test run before sending him to the Central Island Rock Quarry.

"Test successful," said an inspector, "This engine is good to go."

"Most excellent," smiled the Fat Controller, "and good timing too, the Quarry really needs him."

"Well I'm more than ready to work sir," smiled Vincent. Before he departed, Vincent called out to the Steamworks crew and Victor, "Thank you for all you have done, I feel like a new engine again."

"Glad to have helped my friend," smiled Victor.

"Same here," Maggie and Geoff said in unison.

Vincent's Driver opened the regulator and the Camelback engine departed from the Steamworks. Every worker waved to him and Victor whistled 'Good Luck!' until Vincent was out of sight.

Most of the engines Vincent passed were quite surprised by his appearance, they had never seen an engine with a cab in the middle of the boiler. As for Vincent himself, he was enjoying the run. Just running threw the countryside reminded him greatly about the days on the Jersey Central, "good times," he puffed quietly to himself.

Along the way, he picked up some empty trucks. They thought they could have some fun on the way, but soon found that playing tricks on Vincent was a big mistake, "I've been told of your tricks," he said to the trucks, "and I won't let you try any of them." And by golly, Vincent did make sure the trucks caused no trouble at all. He would bump them if they did, which made them realise that Vincent is not the type to play tricks on.

I'd say he's off to a good start so far, don't you think so?


	73. Vincent's Whistle Trouble

_**Vincent's Whistle Trouble**_

_**Special Thanks to Turdy1 and D.J. Scales for the Idea**_

It wasn't long before Vincent arrived at the quarry, he found Mavis and Fergus working there, both engines were feeling worn out. They gasped at the sight of the new comer as he pulled up beside them, they had never seen an engine like him, "hello there, you must be Mavis and Fergus, I heard a great deal about you while I was at the Steamworks."

"Yes, I'm Mavis and this is Fergus the Traction Engine. What's your name?" Mavis asked kindly.

"Vincent's the name, but you can call Vinny if you want, all my buds from the states used to call me that all the time."

"Well we're glad you're here," puffed Fergus, who was already out of breath, "I'm needed back at the cement works, but there are still so many trucks that need to be shunted and loaded up before Morgan arrives."

"Ah say no more bud, I'm on the job." And Vincent puffed away.

So while Fergus set off with some trucks for the cement works, Vincent went to collect the first set of trucks.

Naturally the trucks tried playing their tricks on Vincent, but they soon learned that this was a mistake as he was stronger than they had orginally thought, they feared that he would break them into pieces. Of course, Vincent had his own ways of scaring the trucks, "try any of your tricks and I'll call the boys here, they'll take care of you lot _easily,_" he said with a sly grin.

The trucks, scared to the frames, decided not to take a chance on teasing Vincent.

"Who are these boys you were talking about?" Mavis asked curiously.

Vincent looked all around, then he whispered to Mavis, "I don't have any boys, I haven't any boys for over fifty years. Just don't tell them trucks that, I don't want them little buggers getting too for their buffers if you know what I mean."

Mavis promised to keep that a secret and not tell the trucks.

Vincent worked very hard and did so well that the quarry manager was beyond impressed with him, "you are doing so well Vincent," he said a few days after his arrival, "with you here, this will mean that the China Clay twins, Mavis and Fergus can go back to work at their yards. I hope you don't mind working alone for a while, at least until we get another engine who can help you here all the time."

"I don't mind at all sir," said Vincent, "I can handle this even if I had a busted cylinder."

"Don't mention that in front of Gordon," whispered Ben, "he's had enough problems with cylinders in the past."

Before the Quarry Manager could even speak to them, the china clay twins puffed away, light engine, back to their quarry. Mavis was next to go, "if you ever need any help Vincent, just ask and I'll help you."

"Thanks Mavis," said Vincent as Mavis rumbled away.

Vincent worked hard every single day, but he was never alone as other engines came by to pick up their trains. They would often have a chat with Vincent while he arranged their trains. Other times, he would talk to the workmen and would either listen to their stories or tell some of his own stories of the Jersey Central.

There was just one thing about Vincent no one liked...it was his loud whistle. Workmen would complain everytime they heard it, "it gives us a headache," they would often say. Some of the engines would say that Vincent's whistle was so loud that it would shake some rocks off the nearby rock wall, plus some of them also said that they got headaches from Vincent's whistle.

To reduce complaints, the stone quarry manager asked Vincent and his crew not to whistle while they are working in the quarry.

"If only my Jersey Central whistle was fixable," Vincent groaned, "then I wouldn't be told to be quiet."

"It is a shame boy," said his Driver, "but from what we were told, that whistle of yours was beyond repair, so you'll just have to make due with the five chime steam whistle."

"I suppose...but if I had a choice of picking out a whistle, I would ask for a Pennsylvania Railroad's Banshee steam whistle. I loved the sound of those whistles and they weren't too loud either..." he sighed, "it'd be great to have a whistle like that, but I know it's just wishful thinking."

Every day at the quarry for an hour, the workmen will blast rock off the rock wall, they nicknamed this hour 'The Blasting hour'. At that time, all engines and workers are to stay away from the blasting area until they get the all clear signal. Vincent and some of the other engines knew better than to venture close to the area, so they never tried...one engine did though.

Diesel, who often made journeys to the Central Island Rock quarry, liked seeing the blastings and often wanted to get a closer look, but his driver wouldn't let him, "it's too dangerous Diesel, you'd probably get yourself hurt if you venture into that area."

"Pah," snorted Diesel, he didn't believe it was dangerous and was determined to get his closer look.

One day, he made a plan. He remembered hearing something Thomas did years ago at the mine, "what didn't work for him could easily work for me," he thought to himself.

When they reached the quarry, a workmen flagged them down, "we'll have to divert you onto a different siding," he said, "we're doing some blasting over here."

"Understood," said Diesel's Driver, "we'll wait till you change the points."

But Diesel wasn't going to wait that long, he waited till the workman had almost reached the points, "Now!" he shouted and charged forwards.

The Driver was also shot forward, he banged his head and fell to the floor. He was now out like a light. Diesel rolled over the points and down the line towards the blasting sight, "now I'll get a better view of the blasting," Diesel chuckled quietly to himself.

From his siding, Vincent could see Diesel rattling towards the site and he could also see the workmen on the rock wall backing away from the explosives, which was on top of the ledge of the wall.

"Diesel stop!" cried Vincent, "the explosions are above you!"

But Diesel payed no attention, he was tired of being told what to do. Vincent's Driver pulled on the whistle cord, three short peeps, followed by three long peeps and then three short peeps again, this is known as a S.O.S. Vincent sounded his whistle again, but on the second long peep, a workman came up with a spanner, climbed up the side of Vincent towards his cab, then swung it at the whistle, damaging it.

"Shut up you!" snapped the workman, "you've been told to be quiet, now not another peep, do you understand?" he climbed down and walked away as if nothing had happened.

"Bother him," groaned the Driver, "now we can't warn the workmen to stop the blast."

"Well if we can't warn the workmen, we'll just have to safe Diesel ourselves. It's risky, but if we don't..."

Vincent's crew didn't need to be told twice, the regulator was opened wide open and Vincent puffed towards the blasting site. The workmen were just about ready to start blasting, so Vincent had to hurry. He charged at Diesel and bumped him backwards. Diesel's wheels spun forwards, but Vincent, being stronger than the diesel shunter, pushed him backwards just as a loud 'BOOM!' was heard.

"Hurry Vincent! Hurry!" cried the Driver.

Using every ounce of steam he had, Vincent pushed the grumbling Diesel shunter out of the way...they were just in time as the rocks tumbled down and landed on the tracks. Diesel's Driver woke up after the bumping Diesel got, it wasn't till after Diesel was out of the danger zone that he realised what he was going on.

"Oh you stupid engine," he scolded Diesel and waved to Vincent's crew. They applied their brakes and Diesel's Driver did the same, "you could've been crushed under those rocks had it not been for Vincent!"

Diesel couldn't say a word, he was just in too much shock.

The Quarry manager and some workmen ran up to them, they first scolded Diesel for his actions, then they thanked Vincent for what he did. When he heard that a worker had destoryed the whistle, the quarry manager spoke firmly to him. As a punishment, he was to work extra hours for almost a week instead of working to the usual schedule.

Vincent was sent back to the Steamworks to be checked over for damage while Diesel was assigned to work at the quarry for the day until the camelback returned.

"Do you think you can fix my whistle?" Vincent asked the Steamworks crew.

Maggie looked at the whistle after it was taken off, "we can't repair it, that workman destoryed it. You'll need a new whistle...geez Vincent, you go through more whistles than Duncan does."

"Don't worry though Vincent, we do have another whistle you could use," said Victor, "and from what your crew told my crew, I think you might like it."

"Oh really?" Vincent raised an eyebrow when he heard this.

"Yes," said Victor, but said no more.

Carl came out moments later with a new whistle, right away Vincent knew which whistle he was getting, "either my eyes are playing jokes on me, or that's a former Pennsy Banshee Steam whistle."

"It is a Pennsylvania Banshee Steam whistle," said Carl, "and it's all yours."

While Geoff, Edna and Maggie checked Vincent over, Carl installed the new whistle. When they were done and Vincent had been given a good head of steam, they tried out the new whistle.

"TOOT! TOOT!"

"Ahh," Vincent smiled, "it's music to my ears. I love it, but where did you guys get this Banshee whistle."

"You can thank the Fat Controller for that," said Victor, "he found that whistle along with a few others in the same scrapyard you were in."

"Just be careful with that whistle," Maggie told him firmly, "don't destory it."

Geoff, Carl and Edna looked at her with firm looks. Vincent however just smiled, "don't worry my friends, I won't destory this lovely whistle, I'll take good care of it. And I will thank Sir Topham Hatt next time I see him."

And with a cheerful blast of his whistle, Vincent puffed away back to the Central Island Quarry.


	74. Back In Action

_**Back in Action**_

Do you remember a diesel engine named Derek? He was the diesel that came to help Bill and Ben years ago, but broke down and was sent back to the works. Well, he wasn't sent away from Sodor, he was actually suppose to have an engine overhaul to make sure he wouldn't break down again. Sadly, he was left unused in the 'disposed' line outside the Dieselworks, covered in tarpaulins.

He sat alone for many years, trying to look outside, but he had a difficult time just seeing outside the tarpaulins.

"Will I ever get the chance to run again?" he asked himself, "I wouldn't mind working at a quarry again..." a small tear appeared from his right eye, "if it hadn't been for my engine, I would be working in the quarries." But Derek was sure that would never come to pass.

At the Central Island Quarry, Vincent was working very hard and at first, he did pretty well in keeping the trains running to perfect timing. But soon, there were huge demands for the rocks and Vincent was working harder than ever before trying to keep up to the timetables. He worked so hard that by the end of the day, he was completely out of puff and running low on fuel.

Like Bash, Dash and Ferdinand, Vincent is an oil burner instead of a coal burner.

"I know it's a lot of work for you to do alone Vincent," said the Quarry Manager, "and we're still searching for an engine to help you out, but so far we're not having any luck and the Fat Controller can't loan out any of his engines, they all have jobs to do."

"Don't worry yourself sir," panted Vincent, "I know you'll find the perfect engine to help me, in the meantime I'll just keep working hard."

"Alright, but don't work yourself too hard Vincent, otherwise you'll break down and then we'll have no one to work here at the Quarry."

Try as he might though, the Quarry manager was having no luck finding an engine, the Other Railway and the Mainland Railway were not selling engines or on loaning any engines because of their busy timetables too.

The Quarry manager was upset, "we have to find another engine and fast," he sighed unhappily, "but where are we going to get this engine?"

While the Quarry manager was thinking this over, BoCo the Branch Line Diesel was rumbling along through the countryside towards the Dieselworks with a trainload of empty oil tankers. The tankers didn't play a single trick on BoCo, so it meant that he had a smooth run all the way to the Dieselworks.

Den was waiting outside the main shed when BoCo arrived, "ah BoCo, I think you might want to shunt the first five trucks away."

"What he means is..." Dart said as he rumbled out with a flatbed of engine parts, "some of your tankers need repairing, just shunt them near the disused siding."

"I think you mean the 'disposed' siding don't you?" Den asked.

"Ah...yeah. Usually it's me who corrects you. Huh..."

BoCo took the last set of trucks over to another siding to filled up, then he took the other tankers to the siding near the 'disposed' siding. As he shunted them into the siding, he spotted something that looked awfully familar, just covered up by tarpaulins.

"I wonder," BoCo thought to himself, but before he could finish his thoughts, his Driver had opened the throttle and took BoCo away to collect some more tankers.

That night in the sheds, BoCo told the other engines about what he saw, "it was as long as me, but there was something big in the middle, like a cab."

"Probably a diesel that had broken down years ago and they hadn't had time to repair it," said Gordon.

"Wait a minute," Duck piped up, "that shape of engine sounds an awful lot like...Derek."

"Who's Derek?" Niki asked, "Niki's never heard of him before."

"Derek was a diesel that was assigned to help Bill and Ben many years ago," Duck explained, "but he had teething troubles and while trying to help Bill and Ben to take a long stone train, he broke down and they had to tow him and the train."

"Last we heard," added BoCo, "he was sent away to the Dieselworks for repairs, but we haven't seen him since."

"Well that could be him there," said Morgan, "remember the Dieselworks was in bad shape before and it looked like a lot was forgotten there. Maybe Derek is the engine you found in that siding BoCo, probably wishing for the day where he can work again...just like I did before Thomas found me."

"Who knows," said Gordon, "it could be him, but then it might not be him."

"Well we won't know until one of us goes there to find out for ourselves."

That chance soon came...

A couple of days later, BoCo was taking another goods train to the Dieselworks and was to take the loaded oil tankers back, some of them were the same tankers BoCo took there days ago.

As he rumbled in, he asked his Driver to take him over to the 'disposed' siding.

"But why BoCo?" he asked curiously, "you're in fine working order, you don't need to go there."

"I know that, it's just that the engines and I believe that there is an old friend of ours on that siding. I want to see if it is him."

The Driver wasn't so sure about this, "we can't be late back to the branch line," he said. After a bit of arguing with BoCo, he agreed to at least have a quick look underneath the tarpaulins. He brought BoCo over to the siding next to the 'disposed' siding, then he climbed down from the cab and over to the object covered by tarpaulins. He lifted a bit of the tarpaulin up and gasped, "well I'll be blown, I thought we'd never seen him again."

"Is it him?" BoCo asked.

"It is him," said his Driver, "it's our old friend Derek!" The Driver pulled back on the tarpaulin until the front of the dark green diesel could easily be seen.

"Ahh!" cried the diesel, "it's bright out here." After a moment, he looked over to his left and saw BoCo, "BoCo my old friend, it's good to see you again."

"And it's good to see you too," smiled BoCo.

Dart was coming by with empty flatbeds, when he saw Derek, he could hardly believe his eyes, "I hardly knew he was here," he gasped, "how long have you been in this siding?"

"I don't know," Derek answered.

"It's been at least thirteen years my friend," said BoCo.

"Dizzy Diesels," exclaimed Dart, "thirteen years and we had no idea that this diesel was in the 'disposed' siding. He doesn't look like he needs to be here."

"But where will he work?" Dart's Driver asked, "we don't need another diesel here at the works."

"How about at the Central Island Rock Quarry?" suggested BoCo, "Vincent was telling me the other day that do need another engine to help with the heavy workloads."

"I've always wanted to work at a quarry," said Derek, "I would love to do that."

"Well we'll see," said Dart, "first things first, I need to inform Den about you, then we'll tow you back into the main sheds. BoCo, I believe you got a train to take."

"Right, I better be off," said BoCo. His Driver climbed back into the cab and rumbled away, but not before saying "Good bye" to Derek.

Once Dart had informed Den about Derek, the two works diesels went over to the siding and took Derek out of it and over to the main shed.

The Dieselworks crew worked hard in repairing Derek, giving him a new coat of paint and best of all, overhauling his engine. When the work was done, Derek was tested by shunting either empty or loaded trucks around the Dieselworks and not once did he ever overheat.

"At last," cheered Derek, "the teething troubles are over!"

Besides just the Dieselworks crew, the Fat Controller and the Quarry manager were watching Derek's tests, they were all impressed.

"What do you think sir?" asked Benjamin, BoCo's Driver's son, "do you think Derek is the perfect engine to help Vincent at the Stone Quarry."

"Yes indeed," smiled the quarry manager, "Derek is just the type of engine we need, however..." he paused, "I would like to see him pull a long heavy goods train. If he can pull it without breaking down, then I know he's just the engine we need to help Vincent."

"What do you say Derek?" Benjamin asked, "Do you think you can do it?"

"Yes," Derek answered, "I can do it, I'll give it my best shot, I won't let any of you down."

A goods train was due to go to Wellsworth station, no other engines were available to take it, so it was decided that Derek would take the train. He was backed down onto the train and the two men climbed in, along with Derek's new Driver.

"Do your best Derek," said the Quarry manager.

And that's excatly what Derek did, he pulled the goods train without any trouble. The trucks, being who they were, did try holding back on the way, but that didn't stop Derek. He reached Wellsworth station in record timing and without overheating.

"Well Derek," smiled the Quarry manager, "I am impressed with you, I especially liked how you handled the trucks when they started holding back on you. You are the perfect type of engine I've been looking for, Vincent will be pleased to work alongside someone who can handle trucks and do a good job. Once you're uncoupled from those trucks, I want you to go to Central Island Quarry, Vincent will show you around."

"Yes sir," smiled Derek and did as he was told.

Derek and Vincent became fast friends, they worked hard every day and thanks to them both, the huge rock request was met to perfect timing. At night, the two engines would talk a great deal until they went to sleep and during the day they worked like a perfect team. Vincent was definetly happy about having Derek around, but it was Derek who was the happiest of all.

"You know Vincent," he said one evening in the sheds, "it feels so good to be a working engine and to finally be really useful once more."

Vincent was quick to agree on that.


	75. Flynn, James and the Fire Train

_**Flynn, James and the Fire Train**_

On one bright sunny day, Flynn and Belle were sitting outside their shed being checked over. It is important that these two engines are always in perfect working order, just in case an emergency arises. Belle felt bored, "I want to go out and do some work," she grumbled, "I hate waiting around doing nothing."

"It's important for us to be in tip-top shape Belle," said Flynn wisely, "if we weren't, then we wouldn't be able to help. No, instead _we_ would need the help."

Belle snorted angerily, she knew Flynn was right, but still wanted to do more.

Just then, the fire engines heard a loud grinding, groaning noise. Moments later, James arrived, he slowed to a stop near the Search and Rescue Centre with a train load of tankers. The tankers looked very old and had rusty patches on them.

"Those things look like they need to be scrapped," said Belle.

The tankers heard and grumbled angerily, "oh thanks alot Belle!" snapped James crossly as his fireman climbed down from the cab, "I had just gotten these tankers to behave themselves and now you've upset them, they're going to make my journey to the Dieselworks a misery."

"Oh quit your complaining James," said the Driver, "You're just cross because we have to take trucks instead of taking passengers."

The fireman climbed back into the cab, "we're uncoupled, let's go get those other tankers." The Driver opened the regulator and took James over to the siding next to Rocky where a line of oil tankers were waiting to go to the Dieselworks.

While James did his work, the Search and Rescue Centre manager came up to the sheds, "Flynn, I would like you to go to Knapford Station, a group of children are going to be there for a special lecture about fires and I would like you and your crew to talk with them."

"Why Flynn though?" Belle grumbled, "I could talk to the children."

"Maybe, but Flynn knows more about fighting fires than you do, after all he is an experienced fire engine."

Belle just grumbled under her breath, but not loud enough for anyone to hear her. "We'll be more than glad to talk to the children," Flynn said to the manager, "once my inspection is over."

"There's a good engine," smiled the manager, "and Belle; I want you to stay here in case of an emergency."

"Yes sir," Belle sighed unhappily. The Manager turned and walked away, just as James took the rest of the tankers out of the siding.

Once coupled back on, James took the troublesome oil tankers to the Dieselworks. Thanks to Belle's rude remark, James now had trouble keeping them in order.

He soon arrived, nearly feeling out of puff. Norman and Paxton were nearby, but they didn't snigger, they kept quiet.

"They're probably worried that Maggie is with me," James chuckled quietly to himself.

Sidney was sitting outside of the main shed, "hello James, are you feeling alright?"

"No I'm not," James panted crossly, "thanks to Belle's remarks, I had trouble with the tankers all the way here. I wish they could come along quietly. Now thanks to them, I'm going to be late getting back to the Big Station."

"Tell you what James, how about I take these tankers away for you, then you can collect your train, that might help make up for lost time."

James, the two Drivers and fireman liked the idea and agreed, so while Sidney took the oil tankers away, James went to get turned around.

Meanwhile on another siding, a young workman, a new one at the Dieselworks, was walking along the train checking over the wheels and brakes. He was checking to make sure all the brakes were off. When he reached the last truck, he found the brake handle stiff to move and worst still, the brakes were hard on.

"Better get the oil can," he thought to himself.

He ran to the shed and soon returned with the oil can. He poured some oil onto the brake handle...a little too much oil. When he was done there, he tried to release the brakes...they worked. Satisfied, the workman walked away, but without cleaning up his mess.

James soon arrived and was coupled to the goods train. The Driver went along the train to find all the brakes off, when he was done there, he climbed back into the cab and opened the regulator after hearing the guard's whistle. But what they didn't know was that the brakes were faulty and every now and then would 'slip on' all by themselves, but they were soon to find out...

The journey was a smooth one, James had very little trouble getting back to the Big Station yards. Trouble soon came though when they reached Gordon's hill, which is the steepest hill on the Island of Sodor. As they climbed the hill, the last truck's brakes slipped on...moments later, James felt the trucks pulling back.

"Same as always," he grumbled, "the stupid trucks are trying to hold me back, well not this time."

James' Driver pushed the regulator in even more and James surged on towards the top of the hill, "Come on! Come on! Come on!" James snorted as he tried to get up the hill.

In the Brake Van, the guard was looking over some paperwork when he smelled something, "it smells like smoke," he thought to himself, "but it's not like the smoke that comes out of steam engine's funnels." Curiously, he got up from his seat and walked up to the front balcony...that's when he saw it, "oh good glory!" he exclaimed.

Because the brakes on the last truck were hard on, it prevented the wheels from turning properly, thus causing little sparks. Some of those sparks are flown right onto the spilled oil the young workman forgot to clean up and as everyone knows, oil and fire should never mix cause it will catch fire.

Now the underside of the truck was up in fire and black smoke was raising.

The guard ran to the other side of the brake van to be on the safe side, he got out his whistle and started blowing it, three short peeps, three long peeps, followed by three short peeps.

"That sounds like the guard's whistle," said James, puzzled, "But why is he blowing it?"

"That an S.O.S. signal," said the fireman looking back, he gasped, "The last truck is on fire!"

The moment the other trucks heard the fireman say that, they flew into a panic. They wanted to get away from their flaming friend, "push! Push! Push!" they shouted and surged forward, pushing aganist James just as they reached the top of Gordon's hill.

Now it was James' turn to fly into a panic, "stop! Stop!" he shouted, but of course the trucks didn't stop.

They rolled on down the hill at great speeds, the Driver held onto the brakes as hard as he could in efforts to slow the runaway down. Poor James nearly derailed as he swirved on the curves, but he managed to stay on the tracks...just! They soon reached the bottom safely, but now they had another problem, with the truck's mad rush, neither James or his crew could stop the train.

"Help! Help!" cried James as he flashed threw Edward's station.

"What in blazes..." said the stationmaster, but never finished as he saw the last truck on James' train on fire. Quickly, he ran inside the station and called the Search and Rescue Centre, "I like to report a fire, it's on James' goods train, one of his trucks is on fire and poor James is out of control."

"Don't worry, we'll send Flynn, he's closer to your area," said the manager on the other end of the phone.

At Knapford, Flynn's Driver was explaining what to do in case of a house fire when they got the call, "sorry children, but we have to go, we got a real emergency to attend to, but don't worry we'll be back." He climbed back into the cab, turned on the engine and turned the siren on.

"What's the emergency?" Flynn asked.

"It's James, the last truck on his train is on fire and he's out of control."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Fiery Flynn to the Rescue!" and with his sirens wailing, Flynn raced away from Knapford Station and raced along the main line. He raced along until he saw James, he was in pure panic, his own brakes were screeching as he tried to stop the runaway train.

"Hold on tight up there!" Flynn called to the rest of the fire crew, they did as they were told.

Flynn's Driver slammed on the brakes, then threw Flynn into reserve. It was hard going at first to catch up to the tail end of James' train, but at last Flynn caught up and was now running along side by side with the train. The poor truck was screaming in pain, "help me please! Please put this fire out!"

"That's why we're here," called Flynn.

The Driver aimed the water cannon towards the truck while the rest of the crew got out the extra hoses and aimed them at the truck, it was hard work because they were moving so fast. With one turn of the tap, Flynn's cannons started shooting out water at the truck and with a few turns of the handles on Flynn's back truck, water whoosed out of the hoses.

At first, the water missed the flames, instead they hit the brake van and another truck, but soon they were hitting the flames on the truck. At first, the flames were difficult to put out, no matter how much water was sprayed, the fire would not go out.

"Keep trying!" cried Flynn, "we can't give up!"

After a while though, the flames started to die down and good thing too, cause they were reaching Knapford Station. The signalman, who had already been warned of the runaway, changed all the points and set all signals to danger.

"Goodness me," gasped Oliver as he watched the runaway fly past.

They rattled threw the station and were soon back out onto the open main line. It seemed hopeless, the fires were tough to put out, but after a great deal of racing and spraying water, the fires started to go out.

"We're winning!" cried Flynn, "don't stop!"

The firemen didn't stop, they kept on firing the water at the flames until at last they were out. Now the trucks were calming down and finally stopped pushing, allowing James to bring the train to a safe stop.

"Whew!" gasped James, "thanks Flynn, I was worried there for a while."

"Think nothing of it James, I'm always glad to help."

James' crew went to the brake van to see if the guard was alright, "I'm alright," he said, "that was just more thrilling than Hector's runaway, but what I can't understand is why the truck caught fire."

"I can see why," said Flynn's Driver as he inspected the underside of the truck, "there's oil spilled over the underside here, plus the brakes on this truck had slipped on."

It was easy to figure out after that, "well that explains why the trucks held back on Gordon's hill, but I can't understand where the oil came from."

"I think I know," said the guard, "I saw a young worker oiling the brakes earlier, and by the looks of the truck here, he didn't clean up his mess. I think he still has a lot to learn about being a little more careful when he's using oil."

Both James and Flynn agreed.

Despite the runaway incident, James got the train to it's destination on time, but James was touchy on the subject of fires for sometime afterwords. Flynn, of course, returned to the big station to continue the rest of the lecture, he of course told the children about the fire, "what happened with James' train today was the cause of not paying attention to the work that needed to be done," Flynn said to the children, "so remember this kids, be careful around fires, otherwise you will get into trouble."

As for the young worker, when he heard about what happened, he apologized for what happened and promised to be more careful and I'm happy to say that from that point onwards, he was indeed more careful as to never let something like that happen again.

Of course when Belle heard, she grumbled loudly, "Why do you get to do all the exciting jobs and I don't," she asked angerily to Flynn.

But Flynn never answered, he's not the type to boast anyways. Instead, he was so tired that he went to sleep without another word.

**Author's Note:**

The incident where the workmen spilled too much oil was actually inspired by a rail safety video from the Santa Fe Railway, the fire train runaway is purely fictional.


	76. Daisy and the Troublesome Trucks

_**Daisy and the Troublesome Trucks**_

Daisy the Diesel Rail Car has been working on Thomas' branch line for many years, she is designed to carry passengers, but she will take Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta whenever Thomas and Toby are busy. She also takes the milk van, but when it comes to other trucks, that's where she will draw the line as the other engines know all too well.

One evening at the sheds, Daisy was grumbling, "the stationmaster nearly gave me a goods train to take today, luckily my Driver told him that I was busy and couldn't take the train," she said, "good thing too, cause those trucks would ruin my image. Diesel Rail Cars don't pull trucks."

"Then why do you take the milk vans?" Percy asked. This left Daisy stumped, she didn't have an answer to that.

"I've heard of other Diesel rail cars pulling goods trains," said Toby, "some on the mainland did and I think still pull goods trains, so my Driver says, he said they often help out whenever the other engines are busy."

"You see Daisy," said Percy.

"Oh well that's different, those railways don't have alot of engines on their line, so the Diesel Rail Cars _have_ to do that kind of work. There are more than enough engines on this line to make sure I don't have to pull trucks."

"It's as if she's allergic to pulling trucks," Percy whispered cheekily to Thomas.

"Yeah that's probably it," Thomas said in agreement, "Daisy must have an allergy towards Trucks, cause whenever she takes a truck, including the milk van, she'll blow her fuse to prevent her from pulling them."

"I heard that," Daisy snapped, "and I am not allergic to trucks!"

"I like to see you prove us wrong then."

Daisy snarled under her breath, but didn't get another word out as Toby brought peace to the little argument.

The following next morning, Daisy was rolling into the Harbour station. She could see Percy shunting trucks around the harbour yards, "glad I don't have to do that," she thought to herself, "if I ever pull trucks, Thomas and Percy will never let me hear the end of it."

Just then the Stationmaster came up, "thank goodness you're here Daisy, there's a train of trucks that need to go down to Ffarquhar yards, can you take them?"

"What? Me?" exclaimed Daisy, "I can't. I'm busy with passengers."

"You have to do it Daisy," said the Stationmaster, "Thomas, Emily and Toby are busy with their coaches, and Rosie and Percy are busy with other jobs, you're the only engine who can take them."

"I can't leave the passengers though," Daisy said in protest.

"Emily will be coming later, she can take your passengers. We can't leave these trucks here."

Daisy continued to protest, but soon had to admit defeat and very sluggishly, she rolled over to the yards. She was worried that Percy would see her, but at that time, Percy was at the water tower, so Daisy could slip away without anyone noticing. The trucks were on several lines though, so Daisy had to shunt them herself.

She groaned as she worked, "Shunting, I can't believe I'm shunting," she grumbled.

Soon enough, her train was ready. Her Driver coupled her up, then she rumbled away, but not before Percy returned. He showed a sly smile, "so you're taking trucks huh Daisy?" he asked cheekily, "well don't break down on the way."

Daisy said nothing, not even the trucks giggled over Percy's joke.

Being a powerful Diesel, Daisy had very little trouble with the trucks, but they still giggled along the way. "Be quiet back there!" Daisy snapped, "I don't want to hear you miserable lot, I'm embarrassed enough as it is, I don't need you drawing attention."

But the trucks, being who they were, continued with their silly giggling. Daisy did not have a nice run.

She soon arrived at Ffarquhar yards, she was relieved that her job would soon be over. She shunted the trucks into the siding and was ready to go back to the station when she heard a grinding, groaning noise. The source of the sounds came into view, it was Mavis, her engine was making awful noises. Then with a groan, Mavis stopped and black smoke poured out of her engine in an alarming way.

"No more work for you today Mavis," coughed her Driver, "You'll need to go to the Dieselworks."

"But what about these stone trucks? Who will take them down to the harbour?"

The Driver looked around and saw Daisy close by, "Daisy can take the trucks for us," he said, "I'll go talk to her and her Driver. I'll be right back." Naturally, Daisy refused to pull the trucks, but soon admitted defeat again.

Grumbling loudly, Daisy shunted Mavis into a siding out of the way, then went to couple onto the trucks.

"Be careful with the stone trucks Daisy," Mavis advised, "they can be a handful when loaded, so don't give them an opportunity to cause mischeif."

Daisy only grunted in reply and rumbled away once the guard blew his whistle.

She grumbled and sulked all the way back to the harbour, "it's a disgrace, it's a disgrace," she grumbled, "Diesel Rail Cars shouldn't have to pull stinky and dirty trucks."

The trucks were offended by this remark, "So she thinks she's too important to pull us huh?" one of them asked crossly, "boys, I think it's high time we teach Ms. 'I'm so Important' a lesson in how we trucks do things."

The trucks agreed and one by one, they slipped their brakes on, making the journey difficult for Daisy.

"Come on you miserable lot!" Daisy shouted crossly, "I want this job to be over and done with!"

"Sorry, but we don't want this journey to end just yet," the trucks snickered, "Hold Back! Hold back! Hold back!"

Daisy had to work extra hard to get the train moving, this worried the Driver, "steady Daisy, strain yourself too hard and you'll blow your fuse again."

But Daisy refused to listen to her Driver's warning, "I'll get these stupid trucks to the harbour or blow my engine trying."

She roared her engine and pulled even harder, this was going to be a big mistake. For a moment, she was running nicely and in the next moment, there was a loud bang and the train came to a hault. The trucks banged into each other and then into Daisy's back buffers, knocking one of them right off.

"What happened?" Daisy groaned.

"You blew your fuse," the Driver said angerily, "now I'll have to call for help, hopefully someone will come to our rescue."

The Driver climbed down from the cab and went to inform the guard of what happened, then while the guard placed detonations to protect the train, the Driver called the Harbour yard Stationmaster using his mobile phone.

Soon enough, Rosie came puffing up light engine to help Daisy and the trucks. Daisy didn't say a single word and neither did Rosie, somehow it didn't seem very tactful. Once the brakes were released on the trucks and Rosie had been coupled up, the long stone train headed off to the harbour.

On the way, the trucks started to play their tricks again.

"Sorry about this Daisy," said Rosie, "but you know what I'm going have to do."

Daisy closed her eyes and waited...Rosie made several jerks, bumping both Daisy and the trucks. After a few bumps, the trucks had had enough and gave up on their tricks and the rest of the journey was a smooth one.

"Again, sorry about that Daisy," Rosie said kindly.

"No worries Rosie, you did what you had to do. I'm just glad you came to get me and not Thomas or Percy, they would tease me to no end."

"Well I was the only engine available, Percy took a goods train shortly after you left and Thomas, well...he's waiting for the passengers to board the coaches."

"Please tell me Thomas isn't there," Daisy groaned.

She soon got her answer as they pulled into the Harbour Station. Standing near the other platform was Thomas with Annie and Clarabel, "so Daisy, I heard you took a couple of goods train," he said cheekily, "I must admit you did quite well, but still you proved Percy and me right, you are allergic to pulling trucks."

And still laughing, Thomas puffed away once the guard blew his whistle. Daisy said nothing.

Rosie shunted Daisy into a siding out of the way, then she tackled all the goods work. Daisy remained in the siding throughout the rest of the afternoon whilst the workmen gave her a new fuss and a new set of buffers. Toby and Emily took Daisy's passengers until she was finally allowed to go back to work.

Before that though, she took Mavis off to the junction where Den and Dart were waiting to take her away to the Dieselworks.

Daisy worked hard all day, but she didn't say a single word, not even when she returned back to the sheds later that evening. For some time afterwords, Daisy was touchy on the subject of trucks and from there on, Thomas and Percy noticed that Daisy stopped making remarks about 'dirty and smelly trucks'.


	77. Toby's Megatrain

_**Toby's Megatrain**_

_**Based on the Original RWS Story by Christopher Awdry**_

After Daisy's ordeal with the troublesome trucks, the Fat Controller sent Flora to cover her passenger duties while the repairs were made. This freed Toby up to continue his work at the quarry and at the harbour. Flora didn't understand why he liked it so much.

"Well it reminds me of my LNER years when I worked with my brothers and sisters at one of the big harbours. These jobs give me a sense of nostalgia you know."

Unlike the other engines, Toby has small water tanks, so he always has to fill up at the station by the river.

"What would happen if you didn't?" Flora asked.

"Then I'd run out of water past my halfway point, that's why I have to fill up at the river station." Toby shuddered at that moment, "I hate to think about what would happen if it broke and I couldn't get any water."

He could remember when Thomas told him about the time he went 'fishing' at the bridge and got fish in his tanks.

His Driver chuckled, "Don't you worry old boy, we shan't be taking you fishing."

Toby certainly hoped that wouldn't happen.

Toby isn't the only engine who works at the harbour, Percy and Rosie always come by to help, but there are times when they are needed elsewhere, so once in a while, Toby can be seen working at the harbour alone.

One day, the harbour was busier than ever as ships came in with lots of cargo.

"With all this cargo coming in, we'll end up falling behind," muttered Toby's fireman.

At one point during the day, Toby was called down to Ffarquhar to pick up stone trucks from Mavis. But when they arrived, they discovered she wasn't there. The stationmaster came out to explain why.

"Mavis isn't feeling well, they're trying to fix her engine, but you'll have to wait."

"Oh that's just great, that's all we needed," groaned the Driver.

Since they couldn't leave without the trucks, Toby had to wait for Mavis. He waited, and waited, and waited. Toby was keeping his patience, but his crew weren't. Before they could complain again, Mavis finally arrived.

"Sorry about the wait Toby," she apologized. "My engine kept turning off when it was suppose to turn on, you know how it is."

"I do indeed," sympathised Toby.

Mavis was uncoupled from the trucks and Toby was coupled up. When all was ready, Toby set off back to the harbour.

"I hope Percy and Rosie were able to keep up with the work at the harbour," Toby thought to himself.

When he returned though, he couldn't see the two tank engines, but he could see lots of trucks, all loaded and waiting to go.

His Driver counted them all, "Cor blimey, that's forty eight trucks and none empty."

"But why are they waiting here and not where they need to go?" asked the fireman.

The harbour master came out to explain why, "Rosie was called to the big station on urgent matters and Percy had to take a goods train to the junction. These trucks here have been waiting for a while and they're needed at the Ffarquhar right now. You'll have to take them all I'm afraid."

The fireman slapped his forehead, "no _this_ is all we needed," he groaned.

"For this lot, we would have to make multiple trips, but we don't have time today," said the Driver. "We'll have to take one load today and come back for the rest tomorrow."

But Toby knew they couldn't do that as more trucks and ships would be coming in with more loads, and that would result in trouble, not to mention delay.

"I guess we have no choice, we'll have to take all the trucks," he said.

But his crew weren't sure about that.

"We'll be alright, just fill my tanks up that's all."

And that's what they did. They filled Toby's tanks up to the brim, then they shunted all the trucks into a long line and once the sidings were emptied out, Toby shunted Mavis' quarry trucks into one of them.

Flora arrived and was amazed by the length of Toby's 'Mega' train.

"You're not really going to pull that train on your own are you?" she asked Toby.

"I'm going to try," he replied. "I can't delay the Fat Controller's timetables you know."

"Well...good luck then," Flora was worried for Toby.

After she left the harbour station, Toby was backed onto the goods train and coupled up. The guard's whistle blew and the megatrain was on it's way.

"I won't let the line down, I won't let the line down," he puffed to himself.

But Toby had forgotten that the journey was all up hill.

Toby puffed and pulled as best as he could. At times, his wheels often slipped on the rails, but soon he got a good grip and continued on. Surprisingly on this day, the trucks didn't try holding back. Lucky for Toby they didn't, otherwise the journey would've been more difficult.

While he was doing a great job, Toby was using alot of water.

"We'll have to stop at the river station," said the fireman.

The Driver nodded, "Toby can make it on his own, but not with this heavy lot."

They stopped at the river station, much to Toby's relief and the fireman put the hose into the tank and turned the tap, but nothing came out.

"What's going on? Where's the water?"

The stationmaster came out, "A pipe burst in town, so we're not going to get any water until it's fixed."

"Oh no," groaned Toby. "How am I going to get water now?"

The Driver thought, then he smiled and winked at the fireman, who chuckled.

"Well I do know where we can get a drink," he said. "It's not far mind you, but we'll have to leave the Mega-train behind."

"There's an empty siding in the yards, you can leave your train there," said the Stationmaster.

Toby backed his train into the siding, then once uncoupled, he puffed away, light engine.

"Where are we going?" Toby asked his crew.

"You'll soon find enough," answered his Driver.

Soon they came to a slow stop, right in the middle of the river bridge. Toby's fireman climbed out and looked down. "Now then, where is that bucket of mine?"

Toby gasped, "No! You wouldn't! You promised!"

The crew burst into laughter.

"Don't worry old boy, we're not going to take you fishing," chuckled his Driver. "We're going to Ffarquhar to get our water."

The fireman was still laughing as he climbed aboard. Toby was not amused.

He soon reached Ffarquhar and good thing too cause his tanks were nearly empty. He had a little rest as his tanks were filled up. Once that was done, Toby went back to the river station and brought the train safely to Ffarquhar.

"Whew!" Toby sighed when they arrived. "That was tiring."

He shunted the trucks into the sidings, in smaller loads, then he puffed back to the harbour where he found Percy, who had been told everything by Flora.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you Toby," he apologized.

"Oh it's alright Percy, I understand you had your own work to do."

"It must've been hard to carry such a heavy load."

"Well I will admit it was hard, but you know us engines, we have to keep the trains moving, no matter what."

Percy and his crew could only agree with him.


	78. Thomas Saves the Day Again

_**Thomas Saves the Day Again**_

"Oh look, there's Thomas who wanted to pull a train, but left the coaches behind," called Gordon in a cheeky way.

Thomas scowled, even though the infamous incident of when he left the express coaches happened years ago, some engines like Gordon would still tease Thomas about leaving the passengers and the coaches behind.

"Give it a rest already Gordon, that was years ago," Thomas retorted, "Besides, that could happen to any engine."

"Not any engine Thomas, just those who are impatient. You were such a silly engine," he laughed loudly.

Thomas seethed in fury, but before he could say anything else, the guard blew his whistle and Thomas puffed away. Of course Gordon added salt to an open wound, sort to speak, "make sure you have your guard with you."

"That Gordon," hissed Thomas crossly, "he acts as though as he's the perfect engine on Sodor."

"You don't have to take him too seriously Thomas," said his Driver, "you know how Gordon is."

Thomas did, but he still grumbled all the way to Ffarquhar station where he met Toby and Flora as they shunted the quarry trucks, "hello Thomas," Toby called cheerfully, "is something bothering you?"

"It's that Gordon," Thomas huffed crossly, "he really knows how to get under my wheels." And he told Flora and Toby of what Gordon said.

"I see some things just don't change at all," Toby said afterwords, "I wouldn't worry about Gordon's teasing if I were you Thomas, cause it's only a matter of time before he gets his comeuppance, like he has on so many occassions."

But Gordon's teasing didn't stop for a while, whenever he came to the junction and Thomas was there, he would tease the little tank engine by reminding of his past incidents. Although Thomas tried hard to take no notice, it proved to be difficult to ignore Gordon's rude remarks and he would snap at the big engine again.

"He's so rude," said Annie.

"Where are his manners?" asked Clarabel.

"I think his manners went flying away on one of his journeys," Thomas grumbled before puffing away again.

Many engines, like Toby, Morgan and Edward, had told Gordon to stop teasing Thomas whenever they met him, but still Gordon would not stop...that was until one day when Gordon was to get his comeuppance.

On a chilly Autumn's day, Thomas was shunting some trucks into the siding at the junction when Gordon thundered by, "poop! Poop!" Gordon called cheekily, "don't be so impatient Thomas!"

Thomas scowled under his breath.

Gordon had a wonderful run all the way to Vicarstown. He soon arrived at the station earlier than expected, "That's one in the old headlamp for Thomas," he chuckled.

He wasn't smiling for long though as the Stationmaster came out to speak with him and his crew, "I just got a call from the Other Railway, the diesel has been delayed and won't arrive for another half hour."

"Ah well," sighed Gordon, "I guess I could have a rest in the siding until he arrives."

"Not quite," said the Stationmaster, "I've already informed the Fat Controller of this and he says that Niki will take the express, you can take the goods train that's waiting to go to Knapford."

"Goods train?!" exclaimed Gordon, he could not believe what he heard, "I...I..."

"That's fine," said the Driver, "just let us get turned around and we'll take that goods train away."

And so Gordon was taken to the nearby turntable, turned around and then went over to the siding where the goods train was waiting for him. He buffered up to the trucks, then his fireman coupled him up.

"It's been a long time since we pulled a goods train huh Gordon?" asked his Driver. Gordon didn't reply, he just muttered, even though he knew orders were orders and he had to follow them, he wasn't too happy about pulling a goods train.

"We're all set to go," said the fireman climbing back into the cab.

The Guard's whistle blew and Gordon puffed away with the long goods train.

Later on the branch line, Thomas was puffing up to Elsbridge with a short goods train and was to wait till Gordon passed before heading off to the Big Station. He arrived, only to find a red signal for his line. Thomas didn't mind waiting on a slightly chilly, but beautiful day.

"Well at least Thomas has cheered up," said the fireman.

"For now," said the Driver, "but just wait until Gordon comes by."

As if right on cue, Gordon's whistle was heard in the distance, followed by the sounds of pistons pumping...moments later, Gordon came into view.

Inside the cab, the fireman turned to look at the steam pressure gauge, he gasped, "uh-oh."

One moment Gordon was running perfectly and the next...there was a loud bang and Gordon was engulfed in steam, "ouch!" he cried.

"What's going on?" Thomas asked.

"I'm not sure," said his Driver in shock, "they better stop Gordon though, it's not a good idea to run blind."

Despite finding it difficult to see, Gordon's Driver was able to apply the brakes and bring Gordon to a stop, but Gordon continued to wheesh steam for a few minutes before he finally ran out.

"Are you alright?" Thomas' fireman called to Gordon's crew.

"Yes we're fine!" called Gordon's Driver, "but Gordon's failed, I don't know what burst, but we know Gordon isn't going anywhere, at least not under his own power."

Gordon groaned unhappily, "I don't believe this, first I burst my safety valve, then my brakes fail, my cylinder blows apart and now this...why is it always me?"

The crew didn't respond back, instead they put the fire out and called for help, but there was a problem...

"None of the other engines are available," groaned the Driver after calling the Fat Controller, "they're all busy with their own jobs."

Thomas spoke up, "maybe we could help, I could push Gordon and his train all the way to the Big Station," the two crews looked doubtful, "I'll be alright as long as you keep Gordon's brakes off. Besides, if Toby can pull a train of forty-eight trucks and another with twenty-five, surely I can take both of our trains."

"Hmm..." Thomas' Driver looked thoughtful, "Well alright," he said after a while, "let's give it a try, but if you start feeling overheated, we'll stop. The last thing we need is for another engine to fail."

Thomas agreed to the plan and once his crew had informed the stationmaster of what they were going to do, Thomas was switched over to the main line and buffered up behind Gordon's brake van.

"Peep! Peep! I'm ready!" Thomas called.

Gordon couldn't whistle back, so his crew waved to signal Thomas' crew that they were ready.

"Alright Thomas, do the best you can," said his Driver.

Thomas pushed and puffed, heaved and hauled and at first, the train didn't move a single inch. Then suddenly, the train started to move, slowly but surely, wheel turn by wheel turn.

"I can do this, I can do this," Thomas panted.

They only had to stop once to allow Thomas to build up steam, but soon the train reached the yards of the big station, five minutes late.

Gordon was hoping that no one would see them, but he was not so lucky as James and Henry were nearby with stopping passenger trains, "geez Gordon, we know you don't like pulling goods train," James called to him, "but having someone else push you and your train in..."

"We thought you knew better than that," added Henry cheekily.

Gordon remained silent while Thomas brought the two goods trains to a stop, the little blue tank engine was tired, but pleased that the hard work was over.

"Well done Thomas," said a familar voice, it was the Fat Controller, "I've heard all about and I have to say that I'm proud of you, even though you were pushing a failed tender engine and taking two goods trains, you still got them here. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is no doubt in my mind that you are a really useful engine, a real credit to the railway."

"Thank you sir," panted Thomas.

"Now Charlie will take care of Gordon and the trucks, and as for you Thomas, I would like you to rest for a bit before going back to your branch line."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," smiled Thomas.

Thomas rested in a siding outside of Knapford while having a long drink at the water tower. When his tanks were full, he returned to his branch line. As he left the yards with an empty goods train, he saw BoCo coupling up to Gordon, who looked miserable, he didn't say a single word to Thomas as Thomas left.

"For once he's speechless," Thomas chuckled and puffed happily away.

Gordon stayed in the Steamworks for over almost a month, he didn't say very much. When he did come out, Thomas noticed that Gordon wasn't reminding him about the incident where he left the coaches behind. I think Gordon believes that if he ever does, Thomas will simply remind him of when the blue tank engine pushed the big blue engine and two goods trains to Knapford. I don't think Gordon would like that, what do you think?

**Author's Note:**

This story was deeply inspired by a real life event where a special passenger train had failed and another engine (a pacific) pushed it and pulled it's train to their destination, in total the whole train was at least 25 coaches. This event occured in 1959, where it happened is unknown.


	79. Percy and the Christmas Party

_**Percy and the Christmas Party**_

It was nearing Christmas time on the Island of Sodor and everyone was excited. Every year on Christmas Eve, there is a big party held at one of the main line stations, the Steamworks or the Dieselworks. Any engine who isn't busy with work usually come to this party.

This year, the big Christmas party was to take place at the Wharf where the Fat Controller's railway meets up with the Skarloey Railway.

On the day before Christmas eve, Skarloey and Smudger pulled into the Wharf with a doubleheading passenger train just as Ferdinand arrived with a very tall Jobi tree.

"Hello Ferdinand," called Skarloey, "what are you doing here with that tree?"

"This tree is for the Christmas party tomorrow night," the climax engine answered, "Both your controller and the Fat Controller came to Misty Island and picked it out."

"Well it looks beautiful," said Smudger, "now that's something you don't hear me say quite often."

"It's alright Smudger," smiled Skarloey, "mostly everyone gets into that kind of cheerful mood at this time of the year..."

Skarloey was cut off by two loud diesel horns. Moments later, Norman and Paxton rattled into the Wharf with a long train of oil tankers, they were grumbling crossly.

"It's like you said Skarloey, mostly everyone gets into that kind of cheerful attitude at this time of the year," said Ferdinand as he watched the two diesels rattle away.

Norman and Paxton had been asked to take oil tankers all across the Island as the other diesels were busy with other jobs.

"We could've been given one of those important jobs," grumbled Norman, "But did we? No! We were given plain jobs."

"Jobs that are not so important," added Paxton grumpily and lurched forwards, bumping Norman and making the trucks go 'bump' into each other. Their drivers tried to calm their engines down, but it did no good, the two diesels continued to grumble and bump the tankers.

As they shunted their tankers into a siding, a yard foreman came up to see them, "I need you two to take some old trucks that are inside the nearby warehouse and take them to the smelter's yard," he said to them, "they're only being a nuisance and blocking the sidings, so will you take them away."

"I guess so," muttered the two diesels.

"Of course we can," said Norman's Driver, "we'll take those trucks before going back to the Dieselworks."

"And maybe then we'll get an important job," grumbled Paxton.

The foreman told the diesels and their drivers of where to pick up the trucks, then he left to do other jobs. It would've been better had he gone with them. Inside the warehouse were two lines of trucks, one was the siding with the trucks that were to go to the scrapyards and on another siding was a train full of decorations that were brought in by Niki earlier that day.

Norman backed down onto the train and Paxton ran to the back to couple up, but when he arrived, he spotted some old worn out vans sitting in another siding, "those must be ready for scrap too," he said to his Driver, "what do you think?"

"Well they do look like they're ready for scrap. If that's the case, then we better get these coupled up to the train."

The vans that had been brought in earlier that day were to be used one last time before being sent to the scrap yards before new years, but neither diesel or their Drivers knew that they weren't suppose to take those trucks.

Paxton pushed them onto the train, then once coupled up, the two diesels rumbled away. Skarloey, Smudger and Ferdinand were having a friendly chat when they saw the two diesels.

Smudger gasped when he saw the vans, "Stop!" he cried, "those are full of decorations!"

Skarloey and Ferdinand shouted, their crews waved, but the diesels didn't stop. They kept going until they got to the smelter's yard.

"Hey 'Arry, Bert!" Norman shouted, "these trucks are meant to be scrapped! Get rid of them will you?"

"Very well," the scrap diesels grumbled, they didn't like the way Norman was speaking to them.

Soon the two Dieselworks diesels had shunted the trucks into another siding and left, not knowing of the mistake they made.

They soon found out later that evening when the Dieselworks manager came up to speak with them, "You two must be the dumbest engines in the entire works," he shouted angerily at them.

"Why?" Paxton asked.

"What did we do wrong now?" asked Norman.

"What did you do? What did you do?!" the works manager shouted, "You two stupid engines shunted the vans full of Christmas decorations into the Smelter's yard, those vans weren't suppose to be moved till after Christmas!"

"Opps," the two diesels muttered quietly.

The Dieselworks manager sent Sidney to the Smelter's yard to get the trucks, but by the time the dark blue diesel arrived, he was too late. The smelters had destoryed the trucks and what was inside them.

Now Norman and Paxton felt very silly and foolish.

Both Controllers were upset when they heard this, "unless we can find any more decorations before the party tomorrow night," said the Fat Controller, "we'll have no choice but to cancel the party."

The engines were also upset when they heard this and blamed Paxton, Norman and the Wharf foreman for what happened.

"Oh dear," groaned Percy when Douglas told him the following next day at the junction, "this is terrible, not only will our party be cancelled, but now everyone is in a foul mood."

"Well ye have ta admit Percy, that yon Paxton and Norman are ta blame for this."

"And that foreman too," added Douglas' Driver crossly.

"It's a mistake anyone could make," said Toby from the nearby siding, "from what we heard, the foreman was busy with other jobs, so he couldn't have known that Paxton and Norman would mistaken the vans for the scrap trucks."

Percy sighed quietly, "I only wish there was a way we could liven everyone's spirits and keep this party going," he said to his Driver.

"So do I Percy," he agreed quietly.

At that moment, the signal dropped and the guard blew his whistle. Percy puffed slowly away, rather disappointed by the news he heard. He was so disappointed that he didn't hum or sing any of his favourite Christmas songs. It wasn't long before he arrived at the yards of Ffarquhar and found Rosie shunting.

"Hello Percy, what's with the sad look on your face buddy?" she asked kindly. Percy told her of what Douglas told him at the junction.

"If only we could find a way to save the party and to liven everyone's spirits up," he said quietly.

"Oh I'm sure you will," Rosie said reassuringly, "sometimes the answer is right in front of you, even when you least expect it." With that said, Rosie puffed away with empty milk tankers for the dairy.

As she puffed away, the stationmaster came out of his office with a big box of Christmas decorations. He looked back to the station and frowned, "oh bother and blow, I've done it again."

"What have you done Mr. Stationmaster?" Percy asked.

"I bought too many decorations and lights," he answered, "I bought some new decorations for this station to replace some of the worn out or broken ones, but it seems I got too much again and now these ones are going to sit around gathering dust."

"Well it happens from time to time," said Percy's Driver, "sometimes we do over do it with..."

"That's it!" Percy piped up, "I know how we can save the party and liven everyone's spirits up. Mr. Stationmaster, can we have those extra decorations?"

"Sure you can Percy," he smiled, right away he and the crew knew of what Percy had planned.

The crew helped the stationmaster loaded up the extra decorations into a van, then Percy puffed off to the next station. At each stop, he collected decorations and lights that the station staff didn't need, then he puffed off to the junction to meet up with the Fat Controller. The Ffarquhar stationmaster called him and the Thin Controller earlier and asked them to come to Elsbridge station.

Soon Percy arrived, "why have you asked us here Percy?" The Fat Controller asked.

"Just look in my van," Percy smiled. The Driver got down from the cab and walked over to one of the van's door and pulled it back, revealing all the decorations and lights, "we have collected all these decorations and lights from the stations who had more than what they needed, now you can use these and not have to cancel the party and hopefully this will brighten everyone's spirits up."

"You sure a clever engine Percy," smiled the Fat Controller, "Well done."

"Well sir, you shouldn't thank me, you should thank all the station staff on our line and Rosie too, she helped me to come up with this idea."

"We'll be sure to thank them too," smiled the Thin Controller, then he turned to the Fat Controller, "would it be okay if I borrow Percy? I would like to take him and his train to the Wharf."

"Go right ahead my friend."

With that confirmed, the Thin Controller climbed into Percy's cab, then after backing to the nearest set of points for the main line, the Driver changed the points and Percy puffed off to the Wharf with his train.

Later that evening, all the engines who could, came to the Wharf only to find...nothing.

"There's no party here," pouted Sir Handel, "we made a wasted trip."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure," said Percy from a nearby siding.

"One! Two! Three!" cried a booming voice. Within seconds, the engines and railway workers were blinded by a bright light...when they could see, they found the Wharf had been decorated with the many decorations Percy brought from the branch line.

"It's wonderful," smiled Skarloey, then he looked back to Sir Handel, "do you still think we made a wasted trip?"

Sir Handel remained silent. The Fat Controller stepped onto a platform and raised his hand for silence. "Ladies, Gentleman and engines, Mister Percival and I would like to welcome you to this year's Christmas party, which almost didn't happen due to an incident yesterday..." All eyes peered over to Paxton, Norman and the Wharf foreman, who looked very shamefaced indeed, "But," the Fat Controller continued, "thanks to Percy, Rosie and all the Station staff on the Ffarquhar Branch line, we were able to get enough decorations for tonight's party. So please give three cheers for all of them!"

And that's what everyone did, they gave three cheers for them.

"Thanks for the inspiration earlier Rosie," Percy whispered to her, "I wouldn't have come up with the idea without your help."

"Oh I'm sure you would've come up with something," Rosie smiled, "after all, you are a very clever engine. Merry Christmas Percy."

"Merry Christmas Rosie. Merry Christmas everyone!" and on that note, the party began.

It was a great party and for a long time afterwords, that's all anyone was talking about. As for Paxton, Norman and the Wharf foreman, they were soon let off the hook with a warning. The foreman worked hard afterwords to make sure what happened before, doesn't happen again and as for Norman and Paxton, they stopped complaining about not taking important goods trains. The other engines and workers all make sure that they don't.


	80. The Great Western Escape the Movie

With the third season complete, I am proud to present an all new movie story. Originally, I was going to write up a movie story for Edward, but I was having trouble coming up with ideas for that story, so I decided to put it on hold for now and focus on this story. Anyways, this story focuses it's attention around the Great Western Engines of Sodor, one of the Diesels from the Dieselworks and a brand new character. I owe a special thank you to my friend 'Warrior' for helping me to come up with the name of the engine, but for now, I won't reveal the name, you'll have to read the story to find out who this character is. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now, here's the Season 3 movie.

_**Thomas & Friends**_

_**The Great Western Escape**_

_**The Movie**_

A hertiage railway in England had been having financial troubles and struggling hard to keep itself from closing down, but it was no good. The railway ran out of money and it had to close down. The owner put up all of his engines for sell, but during that time, he had suffered heart failure and was to stay in the hospital.

His young son took over and promised to sell the engines, but he wasn't an honest person. His plan was to pretend to sell the engines, get the money from whichever railway has bought the engine, but then send the engines to the scrap yards to be broken up. Nobody really knew of this man's sneaky plan, all except for the crew of a Great Western Prairie Tank engine. They had overheard the man's plans and told their engine.

"That little sneak, he's got some nerve lying to his father's face and lying to the people who want to buy the engines, it's disgraceful," grumbled the engine's driver.

The engine looked worried, "so no matter what, even if I'm bought, I'm still going for scrap. There's no way to save me."

"Oh yes there is old girl," said the fireman, "he won't be able to scrap you if you're not here."

"What?"

"I've heard of several engines escaping their old railways and going to live on a beautiful railway where diesel and steam engines live and work. It's called the North Western Railway, on the Island of Sodor."

"Are you mad?" The Driver said to the fireman with a shocked expression, "Sodor is a long way's off from here. Even if we were lucky to escape, we wouldn't get very far before they catch up to us."

"I know there is the risk, but I'm willing to try, for the sake of our engine. Now are you coming with us or are you going to stay here with no job? It's your choice."

The Driver thought about it, he touched one of his engine's buffers, sighed and then walked up to the engine's cab.

"She's not meant for scrap. Now let's get her out of here."

"Now you're talking my language," cheered the fireman.

Quickly, the fireman built up his engine's fire while the Driver kept an eye on the steam pressure. The manager's son had just been on the phone with the Fat Controller of the North Western Railway and was now walking out of his father's office, grinning broadly.

"What a fool he is," he chuckled, "he thinks he's going to get an engine, but he's in for a surprise."

The manager's son was the one who was in for a surprise. As he walked up to the sheds, he gasped in shock, cause he could see the Great Western Prairie Tank Engine puffing away from the sheds, going as fast as her wheels could go. He tried running after them in the hopes of stopping them from escaping, but it was no good, the Great Westerner was too fast for him and he soon tripped and fell onto the ballast.

Now all he could was watch as the engine faded away into the distance.

"You can run, but there's nowhere you can hide you useless piece of scrap!" he shouted angerily at them. "She won't get far," he thought to himself while he picked himself up, "not if I ask the Other Railways to keep an eye out for her and I'll tell the police that she was stolen," he cackled quietly and walked off back to his father's office.

Meanwhile, far away from the Hertiage Railway, the engines of the Fat Controller's North Western Railway were working very hard. More and more people came to the Island and more trains had to be arranged to meet with the demand of passengers on both the Main lines and on the Branch lines. Goods traffic had increased too, which kept the engines busy. No sooner had they arrived with one train then they had to leave with another.

The Little Western was becoming busy too. A special weedkilling ballast had been discovered in the high hills and a Small Railway had been built to help bring the ballast to the Little Western, which would then be taken to the big station where another engine would take the train to another location where the line was being mended. Ballast work wasn't all these engines did, they also carried passengers along their little railway.

The three small engines had been brought from a railway in England. Their names were: Mike, Bert and Rex. Another engine named 'Frank' was due to come to the Small Railway soon and a fourth steam engine was being built at the Sodor Steamworks.

When the ballast is brought down by the Small Railway engines, their trucks are loaded onto something called 'The Chute'. The ballast is then unloaded from the trucks and loaded into the Little Western Ballast wagons.

One summer's afternoon, Duck arrived at the chute with a train load of empty ballast trucks. He spotted the Small Controller standing on the platform, "good afternoon sir, beautiful day today isn't it?"

"Indeed it is Duck," the Small Controller said cheerfully, "all the trains are running to perfect timing and the trucks are being on their best behaviour."

Mike, the red engine of the Small Railway fleet, arrived with a ballast train, "I can't see them being a pain in the buffers," he said, "these trucks are the best to work with." The main difference between Mike and the other two steamers is that he likes to take ballast trains more than any train.

"Too bad our trucks aren't like that," said Oliver, who was in a nearby siding, "we've had quite a bit of trouble since they arrived."

"Those trucks, trouble?" Mike asked with a raised eyebrow, "I find that hard to believe."

"But it's true, we..."

"Alright that's enough chatter you two," the Small Controller interupted, "Mike; I want you to shunt your ballast trucks onto the chute, we don't want to cause any delays for the Fat Controller's railway."

"Yes sir," said Mike.

He puffed up to the siding for the chute, then his Driver opened the reserver and slowly, Mike pushed his train up to the top of the chute. With a rumble and a clatter, ballast poured out of the Small Railway's trucks and into Duck's ballast trucks. When the trucks were loaded with ballast, Duck puffed away while Oliver went to collect some more empty trucks.

Duck arrived at the big station with time to spare, he shunted the trucks into a siding and went to collect some empty ballast trucks. As his fireman was coupling him up, the yard foreman came over to speak with the Great Western engine and his crew, "glad you're here Duck, there's a train load of supplies that need to go down to the Little Western's new station. Douglas was suppose to take it, but he and Donald are busy with other jobs, so will you take the train?"

"I guess we could," said Duck's Driver, "But we'll need to be careful, otherwise we'll have a runaway like Thomas did when he took that heavy train."

So once the ballast trucks were coupled up, Duck was taken over to the siding where the other goods train was waiting for him. Once coupled up to those trucks, Duck set off back to the Little Western with his long goods train. He took great care as he puffed along, but despite this, the ballast trucks were plotting a new plan.

All trucks are troublesome, but when it comes to Ballast trucks, they're the worst of the bunch. The worst of their tricks were often played on the steep hill on the Little Western, although not as steep as Gordon's hill beyond Wellsworth, it's still quite steep.

Duck puffed up the hill with every ounce of steam he had, "take it nice and easy boy," advised his Driver, "one more effort and we'll be over the hill before you know it."

The Driver was right, within moments, Duck had arrived at the top of the hill with his cheeks bright red. He started slowing down for the run down, this was the signal the trucks were waiting for.

"Now!" one shouted, "Go on! On! On! On!"

They pushed into each other and started pushing aganist Duck. The sudden jerk knocked his crew off their feet and before they could pick themselves up, Duck was racing down the hill going way too fast.

"Stop it!" Duck cried, "stop pushing you silly trucks!"

"No we won't! No we won't!" they shouted "On! On! On!"

They pushed even harder and made Duck go faster and faster. At last, the Driver was able to get up, he helped the fireman up, "are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm alright, although now I'm going to need to wear one of those helmets when I come to work," he groaned, "stupid trucks, why can't they ever behave?"

"Who knows," groaned the Driver and rolled his eyes, before looking out the cab window and saw just how fast they were going.

The Driver went to the reserver and held it on as hard as he could while the fireman blew the whistle to warn others that they were coming. Duck's brakes groaned aganist the full weight of the train, sparks flew as he tried to bring the train under control.

At the Wharf, Bert the Small Blue engine was shunting some trucks on top of the chute when he heard a loud whistle in the distance.

"That sounds like Duck," he said out loud, "but why is he whistling like that?"

Bert's Driver knew why, "engine crews only blow the whistle like that when they're a runaway..." he then looked down to the big railway's line, "and it's heading straight for us. Come on Bert, we better get off the chute, better to be safe than sorry."

Bert didn't need telling twice, he was quickly moved off the chute and over to a safe siding. By the time he got there, he could see Duck coming up to the Wharf at dangerous speeds. Duck put all his strength aganist the trucks, but it was no use, "I can't stop them!" he shouted.

Duck's fireman and Driver had no choice, they jumped from the cab and landed on the ballast, the poor fireman though screamed out because he had sprained something in his foot. As for Duck, he rolled down the siding towards the buffers. With nothing else to do, Duck shut his eyes and awaited the crash.

Duck banged into the buffers, the force of the blow knocked him off the tracks, some of the trucks behind him derailed and went in different directions, including the support posts of the chute. There was a creaking and groaning sound, then the entire chute collapsed right onto the ballast trucks.

"Oooowwww!" groaned the ballast trucks.

"Serves you right!" Bert called firmly to them.

"That's enough Bert," said his Driver, "we need to get help for poor Duck and his crew."

The Driver got out his mobile phone and called the Search and Rescue Centre. Harold the Helicopter came to take the fireman to the hospital while Harvey and Sidney were sent with Rocky to help clear the mess, "Crack my raditor," gasped Sidney, "What a mess, you alright Duck?"

"I think so," he groaned, "although I can't say the same for the buffers in front of me."

"Or your buffers, siderods and one of your wheels," said Harvey as he inspected the mess, "looks like it cracked on impact."

"Don't worry though Duck, we'll soon have you out of that mess," said Rocky and he roared into life.

It took all afternoon and most of the evening to clear away the mess. Harvey and Rocky lifted all the broken pieces of trucks, the chute and some equipment into other trucks while Sidney took them and the unbroken trucks away. He was firm with the ballast trucks, "how dare you hurt my friend and his crew like that," he said angerily, "do you know that your silly tricks caused an injury and damage today?" The trucks were silent.

"We didn't think," one said out loud.

"That's the problem, you don't ever think. Now behave yourselves, unless you want to go to the scrap yards to be broken up."

"You can't take us to the scrapyards," snickered one of the other trucks, "we're essential to the railway, we carry the ballast."

"Maybe, but I'm sure that if the Fat Controller hears about this accident, he could replace you with newer trucks and send you off for scrap. Now, will you behave yourselves?"

"Y..y...yes," the trucks shivered, they didn't like the thought of being scrapped.

Once the debris had been removed, Rocky lifted Duck onto a flatbed as one of his wheels had been cracked right off, then Harvey took him off to the big station where the Fat Controller and Morgan were waiting for him. "I'm sorry sir," Duck groaned.

"It wasn't your fault Duck, it was those silly trucks that caused the accident. I'm just glad to see that you're okay...well sort of," he said, looking over the damage caused, "Morgan will take you to the Steamworks where they'll mend you as good as new."

"But what about the Little Western Extension project near the Arlesdale Railway sir? Oliver can't handle all the work alone and the twins are often busy with other work."

"I'm aware of that Duck, but don't worry about Oliver, he'll be fine. Sidney will work with him until our new engine arrives."

"New engine sir?" This came from Morgan.

"Yes. Recently, a hertiage railway has run out of money and they were selling engines and as luck would have it, they had a Great Western Prairie Tank Engine there named Lily. I bought her and she should be here in a matter of days, till then, Sidney will work with Oliver."

"Lily?!" gasped a voice from nearby, it was Oliver from a nearby siding with empty ballast trucks, "I remember that engine, she worked with me and several other engines on the Other Railway. How has she been doing?"

"Sorry Oliver, but I don't have answers to your question," the Fat Controller said as Morgan went to collect Duck's flatbed, "you'll have to ask her when she arrives."

Soon Morgan had Duck's flatbed coupled onto his goods train, then he puffed away for Crovan's Gate.

"Take care Oliver!" Duck called as they left, "watch out for those ballast trucks." And with a blow of Morgan's whistle, the train left the yards and out onto the open main line.

Meanwhile, the Great Western Prairie Tank Engine, known as Lily, was puffing along the main lines as quickly as her old pistons could pump, "I wish they had given me an overhaul months ago," she groaned, "I don't feel too good."

"We know you don't feel good girl, but there was nothing the manager could do, we were running low on money, so none of the engines could recieve overhauls. Just do the best you can, then you can rest in the sidings tomorrow."

Just then, they heard loud sirens, "what's that?" Lily asked.

The fireman leaned out the cab and looked to see more than a dozen police cars chasing after them, "stop that engine and surrender!" they shouted threw a microphone on the top of their car, "you can't steal private property."

"It must've been the manager's son," groaned the fireman, "he must've called the police. Well they're not going to get you girl, faster Lily! Faster!" The Driver opened the regulator even more and she charged on down the tracks. The police cars chased after them for a while until the road left the railway, but now they had another problem. The Diesels of the Other Railways had been warned to keep an eye out for the escaped steam engine. So when she passed them, they shouted out to try to get someone's attention. "Oh my gosh," groaned the fireman, "the manager's son has turned everyone aganist us."

Poor Lily was panting, she wanted to stop and have a rest, but she knew that she couldn't at this time.

It took a while, but at last, they were able to get away from the diesels and the police. They puffed into a siding, then while Lily had a rest, the Driver and fireman blocked the siding's enterance with thick bushes and branches.

"Another day and we'll be on Sodor," said the Driver after they finished.

"Assuming they don't catch us before then," groaned the fireman, who was now starting to doubt his own plan.

"Way to be positive," the Driver walked up to Lily's front end and spoke calmly to his engine, "don't worry girl, we won't let anyone scrap you. You'll be safe when we get to Sodor."

"But what about you? You heard those officers."

"Yes we did, but we don't care what happens to us, what matters is getting you to Sodor safe and sound."

"Thank you...but I won't let those officers take you away if they do catch up to us, I'll protect you too, both of you."

"Thanks Lily," her Driver smiled and patted her left hand buffer, "you are a sweet engine. Now get some rest, Josh and I will keep an eye out for trouble."

And so, Lily went to sleep while the Driver and fireman took in turns to keep an eye out for anyone. Their deal was that one would sleep for an hour and a half, then that person would take over for the person that had been keeping an eye out, who could go to sleep for an hour and a half, "At least that means we'll get some sleep, unlike last night," said the fireman.

The Driver nodded his head in agreement.

On the Little Western, it took a day and a half to rebuild the chute. Whilst that work went on, Sidney the Blue Diesel and Oliver, along with the occassional help from Donald and Douglas, took ballast trains. Since the chute was out of order, they had to load the ballast by hand, so it was no wonder why a couple of days after the accident that the workmen were pleased to hear that the chute was in working order again.

Duck was still at the Steamworks though, he would only be there for the rest of the day and returned to the sheds that evening.

"So Oliver, I hear that the Little Western is getting another engine," Sidney said to him while waiting for his turn at the chute, "a Great Westerner too."

"Indeed Sidney," said Oliver, "it's a Great Western Prairie Tank Engine named Lily. The Fat Controller said he bought her from a hertiage railway that ran out of money."

Sidney's smile quickly vanished, "I hope the Fat Controller is being careful with this buy."

"What makes you say that Sidney?" Bert asked as he drew up beside Oliver.

"Well sometimes there are those who say they will sell you something, but then will just take your money and run, leaving the person with less than what they had before."

"You sound like you've gone through something like that before," Oliver piped up.

Sidney growled under his breath and looked down to his buffers. He then looked up back at Oliver and Bert, "indeed I have. The Dieselworks manager wanted to buy a new Diesel shunter, one with experience, so he ordered me from my previous owner, sent him money and was hoping to get me...but the Dieselworks manager didn't get me. Instead, I was left in the sheds while the my old owner pretended like he didn't get the money. The Dieselworks manager argued with my previous owner for a long time, but my owner would not give me up. In the end, the Dieselworks manager had to get the police involved and after a great deal of fuss, I was brought to Sodor where I've worked ever since. The point is, the Fat Controller has to be careful just in case this deal is too good to be true."

Those words played on Oliver's mind all day, which made him wonder, would Lily actually come to the Island of Sodor or was this really some cruel joke someone was playing on the Fat Controller?

Duck returned later that evening, he looked like a brand new engine again and felt like one too. He worked hard alongside the other engines until the day's work was done. After the long tiring day, he puffed into the new sheds that were built for four engines. As he pulled in, he noticed Oliver looking up to the ceiling.

Oliver was looking up there so long that Duck thought there must be something up worth looking at, so he looked up too, but couldn't see anything. So he spoke to his Great Western friend, "Oliver? Is everything okay?" But Oliver wouldn't answer, he just continued looking up to the ceiling. "Oliver!" Duck shouted again.

Oliver finally snapped out of his thoughts, "huh? What?"

"Is everything okay? Do you need to go to the Steamworks?"

"No there's nothing wrong Duck, it's just something Sidney said to me earlier today about 'scam artists' as my Driver calls them," and he told Duck of what Sidney told him.

"Well that happens somethings Oliver and I do agree with Sidney that the Fat Controller does have to be careful, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't trust anyone. If he did, it'll make everyone believe that our railway isn't worth trusting, then you know what happens after that."

Oliver did know, it meant the closure of the railway, like so many other engines on Sodor have experienced before.

"Maybe Lily is on her way right now, you never know, just wait a little bit longer before assuming anything."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Duck, it's too soon to start suspecting anything." If only the two Great Western tank engines knew of what Lily and her crew knew.

Lily hid for several days in the siding, but at last, after waiting a few days, she was finally on the move again, "if we're lucky Lily," called her Driver, "we'll make it to Sodor before morning."

"I sure hope so," she panted as her old wheels turned at such speeds that the siderods looked like blurs.

They would've made it to Sodor, had it not been for..._the_ Other Railway, the railway just on the other side of the bridge connected to the Island of Sodor. Some of the diesels here hated the steam engines and wanted to see them all go to the Scrapyards. These engines had been informed of the 'escaped' tank engine and were on the lookout for her.

Lily finally puffed into a big railyards, but found she could go no further.

"There are diesels everywhere," gasped the fireman.

"They'll probably block our path before we can make it to Sodor," grumbled the Driver, "we'd never make it..." he paused as he looked over to an old rusted siding surronded by trees and bushes, "we'll have to hide in there for the time being, at least until we can think of a new plan to get Lily to Sodor."

With that, the crew drove Lily into a siding and blocked the enterance with branches and bushes, "nothing more we can do now," sighed the Driver, "all we can do is wait."

And that's what they did, while Lily tried to get some sleep, her crew kept a lookout for anyone suspicious.

As the days went past, Sodor saw no sign of Lily, which left the Fat Controller worrying, so he called the hertiage railway's son again, "I want to thank you for sending the money sir," said the son on the other end of the phone, "I only wish it could've saved my father's railway."

"Me too," said the Fat Controller, "speaking of which though, we're still waiting for that engine you promised us, where is she?"

"Oh that...well, she's not ready to go just yet, but don't worry, I'll let you know of when she's on her way to your railway."

"Very good then," said the Fat Controller, "good day sir." He hung up the phone and went back to his paperwork, but all the while, he was wondering if this man was going to remain to his word or not.

"One week already," Oliver said the next afternoon, "I know the railway is far away, but surely it's not _that_ off from the North Western."

"Indeed you are right Oliver," said his Driver, "it's not that far away, and you were also right to be suspicious about the Hertiage Railway sending Lily over."

The fireman climbed down from the cab, holding a newspaper, "look at the picture for a moment if you will."

Oliver strained his eyes and looked at the small picture, then he gasped, "it's Lily! But why is she on the front of the newspaper?"

The fireman turned the newspaper around and read the article, "eyewitnesses have reported seeing an engine on the loose on the British Railway systems. This engine has been reported stolen by a Hertiage Railway's son who claims to have sold the engine to the North Western Railway, but saw that the engine was being stolen out of the railyards before he could tell her the good news," he crunched the newspaper in his hands angerily, "that's a load of rubbish if you ask me."

"What makes you say that?" asked Duck as he shunted some trucks into a siding.

"Cause I know the man who made this 'report', he's had his fair share of shaddy dealings in the past and has gotten into trouble with the law. I'm sure he's still up to no good."

It was then that Duck's Driver noticed something, "may I have a look at that picture?"

"Huh? Oh sure."

The fireman handed the crumbled up newspaper over to Duck's Driver, who flattened the paper, then looked at the picture, "and there's another way to know that what this man said is a load of rubbish."

"How?" asked Oliver with a raised eyebrow.

"Look at the man leaning out the cab in this picture," again Oliver strained his eyes and looked at the picture more carefully, "I know that man, he's an old friend of mine, we grew up together. He is no theif, in fact he's a dedicated person who would do anything to protect steam engines from being cut up by the gas axe."

"Don't say that in front of me," Oliver shivered, he didn't like hearing those words.

"Sorry Oliver," said Duck's Driver.

"I think I get it now," said Oliver's Driver, "the hertiage railway's son said he was going to sell Lily to the railway, but I bet he's got a worst fate in store for the dear engine, so in order to prevent that from happening, I bet her crew took her away in the hopes of making it to Sodor."

"Just like we did."

"Excatly Oliver, you got it!"

Just then, Duck's Driver heard his mobile phone ringing, "hello? Alan? Where are you old buddy? You're on the run?" This made Duck and Oliver raise their eyebrows, "I see, you have no way of getting Lily here so you want us to help you. Well of course we'll help, but we need to know where you are."

But the Driver didn't get an answer, as the phone was slammed down before Lily's Driver could reveal where they were, "Hello? Alan? Are you still there?" He turned off his phone and turned back to the two engines, "we were right, they're escaping to Sodor in the hopes of keeping Lily out of the scrapyard, but sadly he didn't tell me of where they were."

"Bother and blow," groaned Oliver, "now how are we going to save her? She could anywhere."

"She's on the Other Railway."

Oliver and Duck looked down to Duck's Driver with surprised looks on their faces, "and how do you know that?" they both asked in unison.

"Cause I heard our old friend Deltic the Big Diesel in the background, I knew it was him cause of his voice and the loud horn he has."

"Great, that's one problem out of the way," Oliver said as the last of his trucks were loaded up, "but the question now is...how are we suppose to get to her? Ever since Douglas saved me, the Other Railway's made strict rules about steam engines going there."

"That's true," said Duck, looking thoughtful, "only steam engines on railtours can go there."

"So if," Oliver said as he pulled his train out of the siding, "we wanted to help Lily, we would need to ask a diesel for help, but which one?"

The answer would have to wait as both engines were to take a long ballast train to the big station together. Once coupled up, they puffed on their way to the station. When they arrived, they found the answer waiting by platform four.

Sidney was there with a train of tankers that were to go back to the Dieselworks.

"Sidney!" Oliver called, "just the diesel we wanted to see."

"Oh?" Sidney raised an eyebrow. He then listened in to what Oliver, Duck and their crews were talking about earlier and they asked him if he could help, "of course I'll help you," Sidney smiled, "you know I'd do anything to help a friend in need. As luck would have it, I'm due to go to the Other Railway to collect some other trucks for the Dieselworks, so I can check to see if we can find Lily."

"Good," smiled Oliver, "but be careful around there Sidney, we don't want anyone to know where she is."

"Don't worry Oliver, I won't raise any suspicions, besides they won't even notice me, older diesels like me are often ignored in those yards," and with that said, Sidney rattled away with the tankers.

Later that day, Sidney rolled across the bridge going from Sodor to the Other Railway, he was carrying ten empty salt wagons. When he arrived, almost all the diesels ignored him and acted like he wasn't there at all.

"So much for showing respect," said Sidney's Driver.

The yard foreman came up to see them, "shunt those trucks near the warehouse and collect your goods train," he said rudely, "the less we see of you the better, useless old rubbish," he muttered under his breath.

Sidney ignored the rude remarks and went to work, but while doing this, he kept an eye out for Lily and her crew. It wasn't long before he had his goods train all together, but he was missing a brake van.

"Another piece of useless rubbish," said one of the ruder diesels, "don't know why your railway uses old rubbish you and those brake vans."

"That's quite enough," snapped one of the friendly diesels, "there's no need to be rude to our guest," he then turned his attention to Sidney, "There's an old siding where you can probably find a brake van. I'm sorry about him, it's just that some of the engines here like being nasty to older engines."

"Nah that's okay," Sidney said with a small smile on his face, "I'm used to it."

Sidney rolled along the tracks until he came to a set of points that led to an old siding, "Well either we find a brake van or we find that engine Duck and Oliver told us about," said the Driver.

There was only one way to find out. Sidney's Driver changed the points and the diesel shunter rolled down the siding until he stopped with bushes and branches in front of him. The Driver climbed down from the cab and walked forward through the bushes, there was shouting, then it went quiet.

"You alright in there?" Sidney asked quietly.

The Driver reappeared, "Yeah I'm alright and so is that engine in there..." someone inside removed a bush, revealing a terrified tank engine.

"Who...who are you?" she whimpered nervously.

Sidney showed a smile, "you can relax, I'm a friend. My name is Sidney, I'm an engine from Sodor and a close friend of Duck and Oliver."

"Duck and Oliver? They're your friends?"

"That's right, they are my friends. Tell me, is your name: Lily?"

The tank engine didn't say a word for a moment, then she answered his question, "yes, my name is Lily. My crew and I have been trying to get to Sodor, but the police and some of the diesels have been keeping an eye out for us, so we can't escape."

Sidney really wanted to help Lily, but he couldn't, not while the sun was still up, they would get spotted right away and be stopped before reaching Sodor. He was determined though to help, "we can't help you now, but we can get you to Sodor later."

"How?"

Sidney looked down to Lily's crew, "cover her up with Tarpaulins, then either I or someone else I know will come here, couple you up to our train and then we can take you to Sodor."

At that moment, Sidney's Driver returned to the cab and reserved his diesel, "don't worry, we'll get you to Sodor, I promise."

"Thank you," Lily whispered while her crew placed the bushes back into place.

The yard foreman was waiting at the points, "What were you doing down there?" he asked angerily, "that useless siding doesn't have a stupid brake van."

"Sorry sir, we just thought we'd check to see if the siding went on, but it doesn't," said Sidney.

"Whatever," the yard foreman then told Sidney and his Driver of where they could find an old brake van.

Once Sidney had the brake van on the tail end of his train, he rattled away back to Sodor.

The next time he saw Duck and Oliver was at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre as they brought a long ballast train together, "she's there alright," Sidney said as he backed into a siding to collect some tankers, "I found her in a siding, she's well hidden, for the time being."

"What do you mean by that?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Well, should a truck accidently roll down that siding, it'll break through the barrier and they'll find her."

There was silence agmost the three engines, that was until Oliver finally piped up, "in that case, I say we go there, get her out and bring her back here."

"Oliver, we can't do that!" Duck said firmly, "you know we're not allowed on the Other Railway without special permission."

"I know that, but I refuse to let one of my oldest friends get caught and be scrapped! They won't listen to her story if they catch her, they'll just listen to that man. Right now, I'll break the rules if it means saving her, I don't care if the Fat Controller gives me shunting duties for weeks or locks me in the shed, I will save her from scrap!"

"You really are determined Oliver," said Sidney, "it's truely inspiring to see someone risking themselves to save someone else. You're not going though, I'll go with you. There's a goods train due to go to the Other Railway and if we can get to the Dieselworks before Diesel 10 does, we can take the train to the Other Railway."

Both sets of eyes looked over to Duck, "I know it's aganist the rules and I don't want to upset the Fat Controller..." he paused for a moment, then... "but like you, I don't want to see her go for scrap...so I'll help too."

"I'll call the yards and ask for Dennis and Billy to do our jobs until we get back," said Duck's Driver.

With that being said, the three engines stormed off towards the Dieselworks. Although breaking the rules and going aganist the Fat Controller's orders, they were engines on a mission, to save a friend in need.

Luckily, Diesel 10 had been called away to the scrapyards to clear away a mess that the Grim Messangers of Doom, otherwise known as 'Arry and Bert', had accidently caused while shunting, so the three engines could collect the goods train. Oliver was coupled on first, Duck was in the middle and Sidney was at the front. Once all the couplings had been checked and the brakes had been released, the guard blew his whistle and the three engines stormed off towards the Other Railway.

They rattled past Vicarstown, then rattled over the bridge and soon arrived at the big yards of the Other Railway.

Oliver shivered, being here again reminded him so much of the days when he ran away to Sodor. It brought back terrible memories, which made him shiver.

"Stay calm Oliver," Duck whispered calmly to him, "we need you to be brave, remember why we're here."

Oliver did remember, "I'll be brave, I'll be brave," he said to himself.

The yard foreman came up, "oh you again huh?" he then looked back, "what are those kettles doing here? They're not suppose to be here without..."

"Special permission," Sidney interupted, "yes we know, but there were no other engines available, so Duck and Oliver came to help me take the train here, it's all been arranged."

The foreman stared firmly at the engines, "hmm, seems odd..." he paused, "ah never mind, just shunt those trucks and get your next train!"

"Yes sir," said the three engines in chrous. After being told where to shunt the goods train, they took the train away to the siding, "You lied Sidney," Duck said to him.

"Ah no I didn't," he said, "my Driver had it arranged with the Dieselworks manager while your crews made sure your jobs were taken of."

"Clever," smiled Oliver, but then asked, "So where's that siding?"

"Shh Oliver," Duck whispered, "what if someone heard us."

"Don't worry," Sidney whispered back, "We're not too far from it, I'll tell you after we get the trucks into the siding."

The three engines took their goods train over to the goods siding, then while the Drivers uncoupled the engines, Sidney told the two Great Western engines of where Lily was.

"Alright Oliver, go see if she's still there," Duck said to him, "Sidney and I will do the shunting."

And so, Oliver puffed back to the points, then once his fireman had changed them to the siding, Oliver puffed down to it carefully and stopped before the barrier. The crew climbed down and walked threw it. Moments later, the barrier was taken down, revealing Lily covered in a tarpaulin, except for her front end.

"Oliver? Is that really you old friend?"

"Indeed it is Lily, it's been a long hasn't it?"

"Yes it has been a long time. Last I heard, you had escaped to Sodor. Tell me, what is it like on Sodor?"

"Oh you'll find out soon enough Lily, cause we're getting you out of here."

The two crews worked hard to cover the rest of Lily until she was completely covered up, then Oliver brought her over to the yards. Lily's crew stayed in the cab to keep her brakes off. Duck and Sidney had already arranged the trucks together into a long line by the time Oliver returned.

"Is that her?" Duck asked.

"Yes it's her," Oliver whispered back.

"Good work Oliver," Sidney whispered, "now couple her up, then let's go."

Oliver buffered her up to the train, then he, Duck and Sidney went to the turntable to get quickly turned around. Quite surprisingly, all three engines could get turned around on the turntable at the same time. They soon returned, got coupled up and started off back to Sodor. Lily and her crew did their best not to make a sound.

They made good progress, but were soon stopped by the night foreman, "uh oh," Oliver groaned.

"Quiet Oliver, we just might get away with this, just let Sidney and his Driver do all the talking," Duck whispered. Oliver quickly subsided into silence right away.

"Late night train?" the night foreman asked.

"Indeed, it's a very long train and it requires all three engines to take it."

"Hmm," the night foreman said and shone his light on the train, "what about that truck behind your No. 11?"

"It's an important cargo that was covered up to keep it safe from the rain," answered the Driver, "it can't get wet. You don't want to arrive at your destination with wet equipment right?"

"No I guess not. Everything seems in order here, right away Driver!"

"Yes sir."

The night foreman turned and walked away back to his office. The three engines and their crews sighed in unison, then slowly but surely, they set out towards the bridge. They would have made a 'clean getaway', had it not been for the teasing wind. It blew underneath the tarpaulins, the ropes holding it down were old and couldn't take the strain of the tarpaulins being blown upwards. They snapped and the tarpaulins flew into the air.

"Hey look!" shouted a diesel, "there's that escaped steam engine."

"Dart!" groaned Duck and Oliver.

"Don't let them escape!" shouted the night foreman, who ran out as soon as he heard the diesel shout, "that engine and it's crew are wanted by the law!" Speaking of which, several police cars emerged into the yards and started chasing the train.

"Alright, time for Plan B," said Sidney.

"And what's Plan B?" Oliver asked.

Sidney didn't answer with words, instead he revved his engine and tried to go faster. Duck caught on quickly and sped up, same with Oliver and soon they were racing towards the bridge.

"We can't give up! We can't give up!" shouted Sidney.

"We will make it! We will make it!" puffed Duck.

"We won't let Lily down! We won't let Lily down!" added Oliver.

The three engines raced on and soon were near the bridge, but several police cars had stopped right in their pathway, "Stop!" shouted the officers, "that is stolen property you got there!" But the engines couldn't stop even if they wanted to, so they went even faster. They were going so fast that the officers had to run out of the way...Sidney bashed into two police cars, one he sent spinning and the other one rolled along for a short distance on the bridge before falling off.

The three engines were back on their home rails again, safe and sound and with Lily in tow.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" the three engines cheered.

"Well done engines!" their crews cheered.

"Hooray," cheered Lily happily.

They soon rolled off the bridge and rattled on towards Vicarstown, where they met...the Fat Controller. He looked cross, "uh oh," Oliver groaned, "we're in trouble now."

"Indeed you are, all three of you are in BIG trouble!" the Fat Controller said angerily. "Oliver, I thought I had made it clear years ago that I didn't want you taking risks, then there's you two..." he turned to Duck and Sidney, "I am disappointed with you, I thought you knew better."

"We're sorry sir," said Duck, "we know that we broke lots of rules and disobeyed you..."

"But we had a very good reason for doing all that," said Sidney.

"And what would that be?" The Fat Controller asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just look behind me sir," said Oliver.

The Fat Controller walked over and gasped, "goodness me, is that a Great Western Prairie Tank Engine?"

"Yes sir," said Lily, "I am a Great Western Prairie Tank Engine, my name is Lily."

"Lily?" gasped the Fat Controller, "as in the same Lily the Great Western Prairie Tank Engine I had recently bought from the hertiage railway?"

"The very same sir...wait, did you just say that you bought me?"

"Yes I did," the Fat Controller nodded, "but I heard you were stolen."

"That's not true sir," and she told the Fat Controller of what her crew had told her and the dangers she faced while coming to Sodor and of what Duck, Oliver and Sidney had done to help her, "sir, I wouldn't blame your engines for what they did, you should be proud of them, they made huge risks to save me. Had it not been for them, I would've been caught trying to escape."

"Yes well..." the Fat Controller cleared his throat, "I guess, ah...you engines did a good job today, but I'm still going to give you shunting duties and nothing else for disobeying me and taking risks. How does one week sound?"

"Suits us well sir," said the three engines in unison.

"Good, and now, I want Sidney to take Lily to the Steamworks, they will fix her up, then I'll send her to work right away."

"Oh thank you very much sir," Lily smiled, at last she could sigh in relief knowing that she was safe from scrap and she was to be given another chance.

The Fat Controller was able to call off the police pursuit on Lily and her crew by letting them know that Lily was a part of the North Western Railway's fleet and that the crew were just bringing her to Sodor. As for the Hertiage Railway manager, he soon recovered and once he found out what happened to some of his engines by his son's actions, he called the police, who arrested him.

"What for?" he asked angerily.

"For destorying hertiage property and stealing money from other railway companies," said the officer.

For his actions, the manager's son had to do service hours around a busy railway, with a guard watching his every move. Needless to say, he wasn't going to pull any of his tricks anytime soon.

At the Steamworks, the Steamworks crew worked hard to get Lily ready for service. Quite surprisingly, there wasn't much that needed to be done on her. During her time there though, she met up with North Western Star and the two became good friends.

When she did come out, she went to work alongside Duck, Oliver and the Scottish twins. The Small Railway engines were pleased to meet her and to show her of what they can do. The ballast trucks, of course, tried to play tricks on her, but they soon regreted that decision as she was stronger than Duck, Oliver and Sidney.

Speaking of those three engines, they served their punishment and promised not to take anymore risks...unless it meant helping a friend.

Lily got along quite well with the other engines and often shared her own stores of the old days of the Great Western with other engines. Personally, between you and me, I think she is quite happy to a North Western Railway engine. Well, it's better than being a scrapped engine, don't you think so?


	81. Captain and the Troublesome Boater

**Hello there loyal readers, it's ThomasZoey3000 here with the fourth season of this series. This season follows along after Season 16 and the Blue Mountain Mystery, so that means you'll be seeing Stafford, Winston, Luke and the rest of the Blue Mountain gang. This season however is going to be different from the previous three seasons as this is the 'International Engines' season, so it's not just british and American engines you'll be introduced to in this season. Anyhow, that's enough chatter from me, I hope you will enjoy reading the stories of this fourth season. **

_**Captain and the Troublesome Boater**_

Captain is the Search and Rescue's rescue boat, whenever trouble comes out at sea, Captain is called upon to deal with it. Sometimes it could be a rescue mission and other times, it might be to chase after trouble makers on the water. Whatever it is, Captain is always ready for action.

One warm summer's day, Captain was on dry dock having his hall being looked over and being repaired when needed.

Belle puffed up and snickered, "being lazy again Captain? Take me advice and become an engine, you'll see more action on the rails than you do on the water."

"Not true Belle," Captain said firmly to her, "there can be as much action on the water as there is on the rails."

"I don't believe it," she scoffed, "rails are better than water anyday, who needs it?"

"You do," said Captain's operator, "Without water, you couldn't work and you would have nothing to shoot out of your cannons on the top of your tanks, what would you do then?"

"Uh...ah...got to go!" and Belle puffed away to collect some trucks.

"Sometimes it makes you wonder if Belle ever thinks before she speaks," muttered the operator and went back to his work.

Captain didn't mind, he never lets words like that upset him, for he knew that he was just as useful as the other rescue team members. Whilst workers and his operator continued to work, Captain dozed in the sunlight, but not for long.

All of the sudden, there came the roar from a motor boat's engine and within seconds, a scruffy motorboat roared past their dockyard, splashing the dockside and then roared away into the distance.

"Goodness me," exclaimed Harold as he landed on his helicopter pad, "what was that?"

"Oh that was Mister Richards and his Motorboat," explained Captain, who had been woken up by the big splash, "I've seen them many times before, they often drive recklessly on the waters and often annoy other boaters with what they do."

"What does he do?"

"That I don't know Harold, he often drives away into further waters and I don't see what they do. I only hope Mister Richards doesn't cause too much trouble and hurt someone."

"Knowing that type of person, it's only a matter of time," Harold muttered.

Harold was going to be proven right the following next day. Captain was back in the water waiting for any emergency when he heard, what sounded like a lorry, coming up to his dockyard.

"Hello," he thought to himself, "I wonder what's up."

Three people stepped down from the big vehicle and walked over to the edge of the dockyards. One was a woman with blonde hair, the second person was a man with black hair and had a leather jacket on and the third, had a small patch of hair on the back of his head and wore a black jacket.

"Are you sure this is where he was last seen?" the man with the black hair asked.

"I'm sure it is," said the second man, "according to the reports, he was seen passing this place," then surprising to Captain, the man put his hands together, then he put them in front of his right eye.

"What are you doing?" the woman asked.

"I'm trying to distort the light so I can see him better."

"Like a telescope?" the woman asked, the man nodded. "interesting, but why don't you wait till he returns with the real binoculars? He'll be back any minute." Captain didn't dare speak up, from his point of view, this was serious business and it was best not to bother these people.

The first man soon returned with the binoculars and handed them to his friend.

"Hey!" called a dock worker, "you three aren't suppose to be here!"

"Hold up," said the second man, "we have permission to be here by your manager. We've been recieved reports about a man in a motorboat, he's not paying fees for his boat and from what we heard, he's been causing trouble. Do you know the man?"

"Oh yes, Mister Richards, a right down troublemaker," sighed the dock worker unhappily, "he often comes by here and splashes the docks."

"Is it a common thing around here?"

"Pretty much every day around here, plus we hear that he annoys the other boaters that are out on the waters. If you find him, tell him to stop splashing the shore before he breaks something."

"Don't worry we will, but we'll need to make contact with him first..." the man then looked down to Captain, "can we borrow your boat here?"

"Of course you can, I'll just go get his operator, I'll be right back."

While the dockyard worker went to get Captain's owner, the man with the binoculars continued looking out to the water while his friend and wife waited beside Captain.

"Do you see him?" his wife asked.

"Yeah I see him, he's anchored out there...and by the looks of his boat, he's been trashing it too."

"That would explain it's scruffy look," Captain muttered to himself.

At last, Captain's operator arrived. The second man spoke to his wife, "it could be dangerous out there, you should probably stay here just in case."

"Sure," she nodded, "if you need me though, call me on the mobile phone."

He responded with a nod, then climbed into Captain, his friend untied Captain from the dock and pushed them away before climbing on board, "at least you're not driving," said the black haired man, "you'd probably wreck this boat before we could get out there."

"Ha-ha, very funny," said the second man sarcastically.

They went out onto the open waters, passing an ocean liner heading for the docks. They also found another boat anchored out on the open waters, "Captain!" called the boat cheerfully, "what brings you out here?"

"Business this time Carly," he answered.

The second man spoke to one of the people on board Carly the boat, "do you see anybody on that boat at all?" he asked.

"No, I haven't seen anyone, that boat's just been sitting there for quite a while now. I'm thinking that the person is either swimming or sleeping in there."

"Alright, well thanks for your help."

"Always glad to help, cheers!" she said and held out a fuzzy pop bottle.

Captain roared away after saying goodbye to Carly. They continued along the open water until they reached the spot where the boat was anchored, the second man called out, but got no reply.

"That's our boat alright," said the black haired man, "number matches the paperwork perfectly and the description matches perfectly too."

"Hello?" called the second man, "is there anybody on board?"

There was a short pause, then there came an answer, "yeah there's somebody on board," moments later, Mister Richards appeared. He had covered the back end of his boat with tarpaulins, no one knew why...not just yet anyways, "what can I do for you?"

"Well," said the second man, "we work for your brother and he says you're not paying your fees for this boat and that you've been causing trouble. We're here to serve you with papers saying that if you cause trouble again, we will have to evict you."

"No you can't, this is my boat!" snapped Mister Richards.

"It's not your boat, it's your brother's boat."

"Look, if he's got a problem, then why doesn't he come out here to speak to me?"

"Why do you think we're here? He asked us to speak with you."

There was another pause, then Mister Richards reached down and started throwing rubbish all over the place. Some fell into the water and others fell into Captain.

"Ow!" cried Captain.

Then there was a clatter coming from behind him, it sounded as though that fisticuffs were flying. After a short bit, it stopped, that's when Captain saw that Mister Richards was getting rid of the anchor keeping his boat in that one spot.

"Now what's he doing?" Captain asked curiously, he was due to find out.

Mister Richards returned to the cabin and pushed the throttle open and raced away from them. Captain chased after them while the black haired man called the woman on his mobile phone, "you better watch yourself, cause we don't know what he'll do," Captain heard him say.

They chased the man along the water, passing Carly and her passengers and heading straight towards a beach.

"What's he doing?" the second man asked.

"He'll crash onto the shore if he doesn't stop," exclaimed Captain.

He was right, Mister Richards didn't stop - instead, he opened the throttle even more and raced towards the beach. His boat soon hit the sore with a dull thud and stopped. Richards, who was badly hurt, tried to scramble away. Captain's operator moved his boat close to the beach, but being careful to avoid the beach.

"Don't hit him, just pull up alongside," said the second man. He shouted at Mister Richards, but he didn't stop. The second man jumped from Captain and landed in the other boat. Moments later, he came up and chased after Mister Richards until he had stopped him from getting away.

The second man's wife soon arrived, "is he okay?" she asked.

"I think so, but it looks like he hurt himself, not to mention that boat."

"I've already phoned for emergency services, they'll be here soon."

The man with the black hair jumped into the other boat too, then carefully climbed out and checked the hall, "he definetly cracked the hall," he said, "we'll need a roadway crew to get this boat off the shoreline, cause if we put it back in the water, it'll probably sink."

Emergency services soon arrived to take Mister Richards to the hospital, but before he left, the man with the black hair served him a piece of paper, "here's the paperwork we were going to give you." Mister Richards snarled and tried to get rid of the paper, but by the time he got rid of it, he was already in an ambulance, ready to take him to the hospital.

The second man looked inside the boat, "oh geez, what a mess in here," he said, "pop bottles and all sorts of rubbish on the floor and on the controls too."

Butch soon arrived and soon had the boat on a flatbed. Once it had been tied down, Butch drove away while the three people thanked Captain and his operator for their help, "ah well, it's all in a day's work for a Search and Rescue boat."

After hearing about this little adventure, Belle now thinks twice before ever calling Captain lazy again.

**Author's Note:**

This story was deeply inspired by the real life event where Todd Howard and his team were asked to speak with a boat owner who wasn't paying his bills and annoying other boat owners. The man wasn't too pleased to see them and after exchanging words and throwing rubbish, he drove his boat away and smashed onto the beach. The man was injuried, but not badly. He was sent to jail afterwords and the boat was sent for repairs due to the damage to the hall.


	82. Gordon and the North Western Star

_**Gordon and the North Western Star**_

_**Based on "Teamwork" by "Christopher Awdry"**_

One evening, Gordon was returning to the Big Station with a fully loaded express. He had had a splendid day out with no delayed trains and no problems coming up. He felt very proud as he pulled up to the platform and came to a smooth stop.

"Had a good run today Gordon?" called Stafford the Knapford shunter.

"Need you ask?" Gordon asked proudly.

"I guess not," smiled Stafford, "I can tell by the smile on your face."

Once the last set of passengers had gotten off the train, Gordon was uncoupled and taken away to the sheds, leaving Stafford to move the coaches out of the way.

When he arrived at the sheds, Gordon found the Fat Controller waiting there, "ah Gordon, perfect timing, I want to speak with you," he said.

"Maybe he's going to take you off the express forever and give the job to me," James boasted, but was hushed by the other engines.

"You can relax Gordon, you're not in trouble," said the Fat Controller, "as you know, your brother Flying Scotsman once travelled on American rails back in the 60's and he was to make a return trip as a 50th anniversary special, but he's in the workshops right now and won't be able to take part of the railtour."

"The people in charge of the railtour were going to cancel the train, but then someone remembered you and they asked me if you could take the train in Flying Scotsman's place. I thought about it and..." he paused for dramatic effect, "I said you can go to America if you want to."

"Oh sir, I would love to do that," Gordon cheered. It had been a long time since Gordon pulled a special passenger train and thought this would be a great chance to show off what an engine like him could really do.

"Most excellent," smiled the Fat Controller, "you will go to the Steamworks tomorrow where they will give you a good lookover..."

"Pardon Niki sir," Niki piped up, "but if Gordon is going to be away in America, who will take the express train in his place?"

James and Henry looked hopeful, it had been quite a long time since they had pulled the express.

"North Western Star will take over the express runs while Gordon is away," answered the Fat Controller, "but I will ask any of you to help out if he ever needs help," and with that, the Fat Controller turned on his heal and walked away from the shed.

Gordon boasted proudly that night in the sheds about going to the United States, but James and Henry were fuming crossly, "why should that North Western Star be allowed to pull the express?" James asked crossly, "I could do a better job than he ever could."

"Unless you come up to a hill," snickered Henry, "you can't climb them remember?"

"Maybe, but at least I don't frighten painters and get my dome covered in white paint," James retorted.

"Well at least I can pull coaches that belong to the railway unlike some engines I could mention."

"I might've taken the Other Railway's new coaches once, but at least I don't stop in tunnels when the rain is coming down."

"Well at least..."

"Enough already!" Duck shouted crossly, "you're giving us all headaches! Besides, North Western Star deserves a chance to pull the express considering he was sitting in a scrap yard for many years."

"It'll give him a chance to strecth his wheels and get used to the Sodor scenery again," added Oliver.

James and Henry had to admit that the two Great Western engines were right, but they still complained about the arrangements.

The next morning, Gordon was waiting at Wellsworth until he got a clear signal to go to Crovan's Gate. He was once again boasting to Charlie as he was taking the stopping passenger train, "the Americans are going to be impressed when they see an engine like my good self roar through their countrysides that they'll want to take photographs and videos of me," he said, "and maybe put me on the cover of a roading magazine."

Charlie groaned and rolled his eyes, "maybe Gordon," he muttered, he was getting tired of hearing his boasting.

Suddenly, they heard a loud whistle in the distance, followed by the pumping of pistons. The sound got closer and closer until at last, the express could be seen with a dark green engine on the front racing at great speeds. He whistled to Gordon and Charlie, then roared on towards Gordon's hill.

"Bust my boiler!" gasped Gordon, "what in blazes was that?"

Charlie and his crew could not answer Gordon's question cause they didn't know who it was.

Once the last coach of the train had gone, Gordon was switched over to the main line, then he set off towards the Steamworks.

He enjoyed the attention he got during his visit and boasted proudly with everyone until Maggie finally shouted, "we get it Gordon! You're going to America, you don't need to keep on saying it! Why don't you talk to Vincent instead?"

Vincent the Camelback engine was on the line next to Gordon. His conversion from coal to oil hadn't worked out quite as well as everyone had hoped, so now he was in the Steamworks being converted back to being a coal burner.

Gordon however wasn't interested in talking to Vincent, he was more interested in his upcoming trip to the states, but before he could speak, there came a loud whistle in the distance.

"Here he comes again," said Victor.

"Who?" Gordon asked.

The answer came as the same dark green engine roared past the Steamworks with a fully loaded express train, "that would be the North Western Star," Vincent answered, "his overhaul was completed a few days ago and by the looks of him, he's doing quite well."

Gordon watched as Star flew past the Steamworks, but he didn't look too happy.

"Show off," he muttered.

At the Big Station, the Fat Controller was waiting for the express to arrive and soon his patience payed off as Star came into the station in grand style and coming to a perfect stop.

"Perfect run all the way sir!" called the Driver, "no steam leaks and nothing came loose."

An inspector came into the station, he had been following North Western Star all day, "he passed every test sir," he said to the Fat Controller, "with the way he was working, the siderods looked like they weren't there at all."

"Good," smiled the Fat Controller and then he turned to Star, "did you enjoy your runs today?"

"Oh yes sir," smiled Star, "I might've been out for a long time, but it feels just as good as it did in the old days."

"Lots of engines say that," said Stafford as he marshalled other coaches into the station.

"Well I'm glad to hear that," said the Fat Controller, "and since you've done so well with the express today, you can take the train for the rest of the day, but the late night one will be given to Niki."

"How come sir?" Star's Driver asked.

"I have a little special for Star to help out with tomorrow," and he whispered it to the crew and their engine.

"Hmm, I wonder what he's saying," Stafford thought to himself. He would find out the following next day.

In the early morning hours of the next day, Gordon was at the front of the express ready to head out to Vicarstown station. From there, he would couple up to other coaches and travel along on the Other Railway until he reached the dockyards where he'd be loaded up onto a boat for America.

He simmered happily, humming a little tune to himself. His joyful moment though wasn't going to last as he saw Star's tender backing down towards him, "what is this?" he asked in surprise, "I'm suppose to be taking this train."

"I know that Gordon," Star said kindly, "but the Fat Controller wanted me to double-head with you since many of the enthusiasts wanted to see a double header of two steam engines on the express today."

"Uh Oh," said Stafford from his platform, "that won't make Gordon happy."

"Oh have they indeed?" Gordon asked crossly, "well just make sure you don't leave me to push you and pull the train too."

A sneaky idea came into his head at that moment and he whispered it to his crew, "alright then, we'll do it at the hill," said the Driver.

The people got into the coaches, the guard blew his whistle and the long express train roared out of the big Station. Stafford saw the smirk on Gordon's face as they rattled out, "he's up to something," he said quietly, "that can't be good."

They made good timing as they pounded along the main line, but as they reached Gordon's hill, Gordon's crew reduced his speed and steam preasure, leaving Star to pull Gordon and the express coaches behind him. Star's crew were confused and look back to see if anything was wrong. When they saw Gordon smirking, they quickly realised what was going on.

They soon reached Crovan's Gate works station where Sir Handel was waiting with his coaches.

"Were you feeling tired back there Gordon?" asked Star.

"You were enjoying yourself," Gordon smirked, "I didn't want to spoil your day."

"Oh so that's it," he said, realising now what was going on, "I thought I was going too fast for you, but now I can see you were just trying to spite me out."

Star was not happy, but neither was Gordon after Star had said those words, "too fast?!" he spluttered, "just you wait, I'll show you!"

"Please tell me that's not the way Duncan and I behave," Sir Handel said to his crew. They both nodded, "bother!"

At last, it was time to go. Gordon's Driver opened the injector to let water into the boiler, but nothing happened. The fireman tried his duplicate, but still nothing came through, "ouch!" cried Gordon, "give me a drink please! I need one right now!"

"You're not going to get it Gordon," said the Driver, "your injectors have failed, you're going have to be taken off the train, you can't go on."

"What?" spluttered Gordon, but there was no other choice.

Star's crew were informed of what was going on and after being uncoupled from the train, Star took Gordon back over to the Steamworks. "Goodness me Gordon, what happened to you this time?" asked Victor. Gordon said nothing.

His crew told Victor everything while Star went off to collect the express train.

Later, the Fat Controller came to the Steamworks and after being informed of what happened, he spoke sternly to Gordon. After that discussion, Gordon stayed in complete silence with alot on his mind.

His injectors were fixed over night and he returned the following next day. Star was waiting for him with the express, "hello Gordon, how are you feeling today?"

"A little better," he answered. He then took in a deep breath and apologized to Star, "I'm sorry for what I did yesterday. I know now that it was silly of me to try and spite you out, I was just upset about being shadowed out by you."

"Don't worry about it Gordon, jealousy gets the better of everyone from time to time."

"Even so, it was foolish of me to do what I did. I'm sorry again and I want to thank you for helping me to the Steamworks and..." he paused for a moment, "I would like to ask you, would you like to double head with me today? I promise I won't hold back."

Star could see that Gordon was truely sorry for what he did, "of course I would Gordon, it would be my pleasure to pull the express with a fine engine like you."

Gordon beamed with pride. Star was switched over to the express line and once the passengers were on board and the guard had blown his whistle, they set off out of the station.

"I think Gordon now knows that it's teamwork that counts on a railway," Stafford said to his Driver, "maybe now he won't spite anymore engines out."

"That remains to be seen," said the driver.

Gordon was true to his word and didn't hold back at all during the run and looking back on their run, both Gordon and Star were glad to be part of the North Western Railway team.


	83. Many Tales for Gordon

_**Many Tales for Gordon**_

_**With Special Thanks for D.J. Scales for the ideas**_

Upon his arrival in America, Gordon went into a workshop where he was given a bright shiny bell, new knuckle couplings in place of his original chain couplings and he was given cowcatchers underneath his front buffer beams.

"Why am I being given these things?" Gordon asked, "if they wanted an engine with all this 'stuff', the Fat Controller could've sent Hank or Toby."

"It's for safety reasons Gordon," said his Driver, "the bell will help warn people long before you arrive and the cowcatchers will protect them and animals if they come onto the line."

"As for the knuckle couplings," said the man in charge of the railtour, "you need them cause the coaches you will be pulling will have knuckle couplings, not chains. Plus," he continued, "it will allow helper engines to help you in case you can't handle some of the hills during your railtour."

Gordon understood, but he still didn't like the 'Stuff' as he called it, "Henry and James would never let me the end of it if they knew."

His mood lightened somewhat when he was backed onto his coaches for the first time. There were many rail enthusiasts, armed with many different kinds of cameras, waiting to see him. They took lots of pictures and videos of Gordon, the big blue engine didn't know which way to look. The railtour volunteers had to shoo the passengers to their coaches, otherwise they would never have started.

Gordon waited till all the passengers were on board and watched a small goods train or freight train as they are known in America, pass by.

Finally, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. Gordon dug his wheels into the sand on the rails and gave a great have. The train was heavy at first, but once they had gotten started, it proved to be quite easy for Gordon.

Gordon and the Railtour thundered along the line in great style. People came by the dozens to see him and watched as he roared by, blowing his whistle or ringing his new bell.

"It feels so good to be famous," Gordon thought happily to himself.

Unlike express trains, railtour trains run all day long, which sometimes tires the engines out. Gordon had a good run, but as the sun went down for the day, he soon grew tired. He felt as though his wheels were going to come right off.

"Don't worry Gordon, you're not going to be running all night," his Driver called to him, "we'll be stopping real soon, then you can rest."

Gordon was relieved to hear that, but he wondered to himself of where he was going to be staying that evening. He soon found when he saw a big station coming into view and saw three large steam engines all waiting there.

"Sound off!" shouted one of them. The engines blew off their whistles loud and long, it was their way of saying 'hello' to Gordon and the railtour passengers.

"Well crack my boiler, it really is the other A3 steam locomotive," said one of the other engines.

"Well what did you expect Chris?" asked the third engine in the group, "Flying Scotsman did say that he had a brother still in service and the manager told us a few days ago that he was coming."

"I know that, but it's not everyday that you get to see another engine from the same class."

Gordon smiled as he slowed to a stop at the station. Once again, the rail enthusiasts got out of the coaches and took pictures of Gordon and three steam engines, who were the former New York Central engines Flying Scotsman told him and the others about a year before. They were Chris, Rolf and Ron, all shining with bright new paint.

The enthusiasts stayed for a bit to take pictures, then they left to board the buses that would take them to hotels.

"A fine run today Gordon," smiled the man in charge of the railtour, "and now you deserve a rest. The American Heritage Railway's shunter will take care of your coaches."

As if on cue, there came a thump from the back end of the train. It was Jimmy, the Diesel shunter that had saved the NYC engines long ago. He was being coupled up to the coaches, "the others are all waiting to see you Mr. Gordon," called Jimmy.

"Thanks and it's just Gordon," he called back.

Once uncoupled from the coaches, Gordon set off to the sheds where he got quite a surprise, "Koyuki?" he gasped.

Sure enough, sitting in one of the berths of the shed was Koyuki the Little Green tank engine that had visited the Island of Sodor in two years. "Hello Gordon, it's good to see you again," she said cheerfully. This time around, Koyuki looked very different from her previous visits. She had a bell, knuckle couplings and a pair of cowcatchers underneath her buffer beam.

"I've never seen you with those on before," Gordon said as kindly as he could.

"Well that's because when I went to Sodor, my manager had them removed and gave me chain couplings," she said, "but when I'm in America, I have to have them on."

"I see," said Gordon, then he asked, "What are you doing here anyways? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Well like you, I'm doing various railtours around the country up to when I get to the Strasburg Railroad and from there, I'll be doing regular runs with the other engines."

Gordon gasped when he heard this, "but that's where I'm going!"

"Well what a surprise," Koyuki smiled.

Gordon was turned on the turntable and backed into his spot in between Koyuki and another engine that looked quite different from any engine he's ever seen before. The engine noticed Gordon staring at him, "I'm sorry, it's just that I've never seen an engine like you before."

The engine just smiled, "that's okay Gordon, I get that look sometimes," he said, "not many people or engines have ever seen a Heisler Geared locomotive like myself."

"A what now?" Gordon asked sounding confused.

"A Heisler geared steam locomotive," the engine answered, "I run on steam just like any other steam locomotive, but I run with the help of gears as you can properly see on me," he paused and allowed Gordon to look, "we Heisler locomotives were built to help with logging operations, but we often pulled passenger trains into the forest areas as well," he then added with a chuckle, "some of us can actually go faster than shays and climax locomotives."

"Interesting," Gordon thought to himself, "I wonder if Ferdinand knows anything about Heisler locomotives."

When Jimmy returned to the sheds, the other engines all got their chance to introduce themselves to Gordon. There were Chris, Rolf and Ron the NYC 'Ghost of the Rails' trio, then there were Davis and Matt the Steam shunters, Jimmy the Diesel shunter, Eon and Rika the Brake vans, or cabooses as they are called in America and then there were the big engines from the Union Pacific railroad: Xander the Challenger Engine and Brutaris the Big Boy engine. There was also another engine in the sheds, but she was alot smaller than some of the other engines in the shed.

"I'm Brittney," said the engine, "I onced work on the Pennsylvaia railroad hauling passengers and freight trains all day long, but when the K4s came along, I was sent to work on a branch line until my retirement. Afterwords, I sat in a scrap yard awaiting the terrible day when the cutter's torch would cut me up, but luckily I was saved by a railway museum and had me sit on display for many years. Now though," she continued, "they would like me to run some trains on the Strasburg Railroad, so they sent me here to be restored."

"Wasn't your restoration suppose to start today?" asked Davis.

"It was, but they decided not to start it today because of Gordon's arrival," answered Brittney, "it wouldn't be fair if I was in the workshop while Gordon was here."

"Indeed it wouldn't," agreed Koyuki.

"I speak for all of us here when I say that we are honored to have you here with us Gordon," said Brutaris.

"Well I'm glad to be here," said Gordon, "and I thank you for the great welcome and for the interesting tales so far."

"Well if it's interesting tales you want to hear Gordon, why don't we tell you about the 'Silver Streak' incident," blurted out Davis.

"I'm sorry, but I've already heard that story," Gordon said in a kind way, "Flying Scotsman told all of us engines the story when he came to Sodor last year..." he paused and looked over to the Union Pacific's Mighty Giant Steam engines, "but he didn't tell us about you two. Will you tell me of what you used to do?"

Xander and Brutaris were more than happy to tell Gordon, "well Gordon," began Xander, "the Challengers like myself and the Big Boys were all built to tackle the steep grades of Sherman Hill just outside of Cheyenne Wyoming. In the past, steam locomotives often struggled up the hill, even with double or triple headers."

"The Union Pacific decided to build a locomotive that could handle the grades," continued the Challenger engine, "and the first of those engines were the Challengers. Built with four front wheels, two pairs of six driving wheels and four trailing wheels underneath the cab. We were impressive locomotives and we could handle the heavy workloads. However, although we were built to be strong locomotives, we still had troubles with Sherman hill."

Xander stopped and allowed Brutaris to continue, "Union Pacific then decided to build an even bigger engine," he said, "some thought it couldn't be done as the new engine would be too long to go around curves. It was possible though cause like the Challengers, we were built with a special pin in between our driving wheels sets and they did not attach our boiler to the front wheels sets, this in turn allowed us to go into a curve with little trouble at all."

"With that problem dealt with, the Union Pacific had the locomotives built," he continued, "with an extra set of driving wheels in our wheel sets and given a longer boiler and firebox. We were Titans of the rails, the biggest and most powerful engines to ever roll down the tracks. It was on the '4000's smokebox door that an ALCO chopped the words 'Big Boy' and it was the name we kept for many years."

"We were proven to be quite successful and easily tackled the grades of Sherman hill without breaking a sweat."

"Impressive," smiled Gordon, then he asked, "how many Big Boys and Challengers were there on the Union Pacific?"

"Oh lots of us," answered Xander, "there were the 3700, the 3800 and the 3900 class Challengers."

"And there were twenty four more Big Boys built for the Union Pacific," answered Brutaris, then he sighed unhappily, "only eight of the Big Boys survive to this day and none in operation, which includes myself."

"As for the Challengers," added Xander, "3985 is about the only one in operation to this day. 3977 and I, as far as I know, are the only other Challengers still around."

The two big engines sighed and remembered their fallen brothers and sisters, "they will forever be remembered in our memories," said Brutaris.

"As do all of our fallen friends and class mates," said Rolf.

Gordon had to agree with them, then for the rest of the night, he listened in to the many tales of mighty passenger trains, heroic rescues, tradgic incidents and heard the stories of the unique experimental engines. This went on all night until the engines and rolling stock grew tired and went off to sleep.

Koyuki was the last to go to sleep, she looked over to Gordon and smiled, "sweet dreams Gordon, we'll see you in the morning," and on that note, Koyuki closed her eyes and went off to sleep.


	84. Sticking Out

_**Sticking Out**_

The next morning, Gordon was being prepared for the next portion of his railtour run. For the next portion of his railtour all the way to a place his Driver called 'Nashville', Gordon would be doing a double header run with a very big engine. The engine however was running a little late on this morning, but Gordon didn't mind, it gave him the chance to tell some of his stories from Sodor.

"We pounded the rails as we thundered along the line, Thomas was just shouting, 'Stop! Stop!', but I just laughed and continued on. It served him right though if you ask me."

"Well that's one to pay out a cheeky engine," chuckled Xander.

Just then, the engines heard a loud whistle in the distance. It was one of the loudest whistles Gordon had ever heard, it made him shake in his frames, "what is that?" he asked.

"That Gordon," said the man in charge of the railtour, "is the other engine that you will be working with."

Gordon and the Other American engines all watched as the train came into the station. A big black steam locomotive was at the front of the train, she had four front wheels, eight big driving wheels and four big wheels underneath her cab and big firebox. She also had smoke deflectors at the front and had a very big tender behind her.

Underneath her cab windows were three numbers '844' and on the tender, there were the words 'Union Pacific'.

"Come on Gordon," said his Driver, "let's go meet up with that engine."

He opened the resever and Gordon moved out of the sheds. All the other engines said their goodbyes and those who could, blew off their whistles and airhorns. He backed up until he was side by side with the engine '844'.

"Hello there," she said in a kind voice, "the name is Ashley and if I'm not mistaken, you are Gordon the Big Engine."

"Uh yes that's me," Gordon said in a shy tone. He certainly didn't feel big around this engine.

Once again, passengers came and took photographs and videos of the two engines until they had to be shooed to their train again. Gordon was switched over from one line and onto the main line, then was coupled up in front of Ashley the Northern Engine while Jimmy shunted the railtour coaches to the end of the train.

"Just think Gordon," said his fireman, "you get to work alongside an engine that's never been retired before."

"What?" Gordon exclaimed, "never retired?"

Ashley smiled, "yes Gordon that's true, I'm one of the few engines here in America that's never been retired from active duty," she said, "I've been working for the Union Pacific ever since I was built and I still work for the railroad to this day."

Gordon was just amazed. For years, he believed that he and the many engines on Sodor that arrived long before the 1950's were the only ones that had never been retired.

His thoughts were soon interupted when he heard the guard's whistle blow.

"Poop! Poop! Are you ready Ashley?" whistled Gordon.

"WHOO! WHOO! I'm ready!" Ashley whistled back. Gordon gasped and his dome shook.

"That's one loud whistle," Gordon thought to himself as they pulled out of the station, "it's even louder than Toby's temporary whistle was."

The engines dug their wheels into the sand and pulled away from the Heritage Railway with people waving and cheering them on.

They soon reached the open main line where they picked up speed, Gordon was now enjoying himself enormously and found that Ashley was great company.

"There were many of us eight hundred class northerns built for the Union Pacific railroad, we were all designed to take passenger trains, but we often took freight trains when there were no other engines available," Ashley was saying. She sighed happily, remembering those days, "those were the days."

"They must've been grand," Gordon said kindly.

"Oh they were my friend and you know what, it makes me proud to be a Union Pacific engine and to be celebrating our 150th anniversary."

"150?" Gordon asked.

"Oh yes, the railroad's been around for quite a long time and to celebrate, I'm to pull special Anniversary railtour trains this year."

"Lucky you," smiled Gordon.

Luck however was not going to be on Gordon's side a few days later. At a big plant, a diesel shunter was backing up to a long line of trucks that he had to take further down the line. The guard, or conductor as they are known as in America, was telling the Driver how much distance there was between the engine and the first truck.

"Slow him down a little more, you got 10 feet left to go...and perfect," he shouted as the knuckle couplings got attached. The guard connected the air brake hoses and went along the train, counting how many trucks they were to take. All was going well, until his mobile phone started ringing.

Instead of ignoring it and doing his job, he answered it. He chatted with the person on the other end of the phone, which took a long time.

The Driver called to him over the hand held radio, "are you done counting back there?" he asked, but got no answer. "Stan, have you finished counting those cars?"

"Yeah," came an answer at last, "I'm done here, we can go."

"Well then get back to the cab and we'll get going!"

"Roger that, over and out," and with that, the guard walked up to the engine. However, because he had been focusing so much on talking to the person on the other end of the phone, he had lost track of how many trucks they were to take out. He was going to find out very soon though.

Once in the cab, the Driver opened the throttle and the diesel shunter roared into life, pulling it's train behind it.

As they moved out, the Driver noticed the long line of trucks, "are you sure you counted all those cars properly?" he asked.

"Of course I did, why?"

"Well I'm looking back at our train and I can see that our train is a little longer than we thought."

"Don't tell me that they made a mistake again?" grumbled the guard, "they're always making mistakes."

"It's not them this time, I think it was you," then he asked, "What were you doing while you were counting the cars?" the guard thought about it, but didn't answer, "well?"

"I was on my phone," he admitted quietly, "I lost track of how many cars we were suppose to take."

The Driver slapped his forehead, "you stupid idiot, have I not told you in the past that you should ignore your phone when you're working?"

"Yes you've told me that hundreds of times already."

"And yet, I thought you had listened to what I had said," the Driver said unhappily, "but now thanks to your phone call, we got too long of a train. I better inform dispatch about this." He grabbed the held held radio and called dispatch, "This is train No 2479 calling Dispatch, come in dispatch."

"What's up 2479?" came the answer on the other end of the radio.

"We have a little problem, we took too many cars from the plant," he answered, "so we're going to be coming in with a bigger train."

"Understood 2479," said the person on the other end, "however you're going have to wait for a bit in a siding. That special railtour train is due to come through on your line and they're coming in fast. Can you get to the siding in time?"

"We can, but we won't fit," answered the Driver, "we got too much train, we'll have to make a quick run to the next siding."

"No good 2479, you won't make it before that railtour catches up, you'll have to go into the next siding. The switch has been thrown - keep those fingers crossed."

"Understood dispatch, over and out."

The Driver went to the brake handle and started to bring the train's speed down. They rolled smoothly into the siding with each truck following right behind them, "maybe we will fit," said the guard.

But he was wrong. The train soon reached the end of the siding, they could go no further than that. The Driver looked back and noticed the last truck was still hanging out over the railway line.

"No we won't fit," he said, "we're still hanging out over the line," he grabbed the hand held radio again, "dispatch, this is 2479."

"2479, are you in the siding?"

"Yes and we barely fit here, we got our last car sticking out on the line. Please inform the railtour to stop as soon as possible, we're going have to go to the next siding."

"No can do, that railtour is just minutes away from your siding," replied Dispatch, "you have to stay put and cross those fingers again."

"Understood Dispatch, over and out," sighed the Driver.

Meanwhile, Gordon and Ashley were thundering along the line. Gordon was looking forward to seeing Music City U.S.A. and to have a rest too, "Henry and James are going to be jealous when they hear of this," Gordon boasted and whistled loud and long for everyone to hear.

Gordon's Driver looked out the cab and noticed several rail enthusiasts were waving frantically at them.

"They're waving because I'm so splendid," Gordon thought happily.

But that wasn't the reason they were waving. They were trying to warn Gordon and the railtour train, but by the time Gordon figured it out, it was much too late. A corner of the last train's truck was hanging on his line, "Watch out!" Gordon cried.

The Driver applied the brakes hard and whistled to warn Ashley and her crew, but it did no good.

"This is going to be loud," groaned the Diesel shunter.

Gordon skidded along the line and went bashing into the last truck with a loud bang. The right side of the last truck was bashed to bits, which created more space for the rest of the train, which was lucky to escape without a single scratch.

"Oww!" Gordon cried as he slid past the goods train. The left side of his front bufferbeam was badly damaged and was tilted upwards.

"Sorry!" called the diesel shunter, "it was my conductor's fault for not counting how many cars we were suppose to take."

Gordon heard nothing and continued onwards. The Diesel shunter's Driver stared angerily at the guard, "give me that phone," he said firmly. The guard sighed and handed it over to the Driver, "you can get it back at the end of the day, assuming our boss won't want to fire you for not doing your job."

Thankfully, nothing else had been damaged on Gordon, so he and Ashley were able to continue on towards Nashville.

It was dark by the time the two engines arrived. People greeted them warmily and took photographs and videos of them again, Gordon wished they didn't. Some were concerned and asked if he was okay.

Finally after the crowds disappeared, which allowed Gordon and Ashley's crews to look over the damaged bufferbeam.

"I can't believe your luck Gordon," said the fireman, "You blew out your cylinder last year, then you broke down and Thomas had to push you to the big station and now this."

Gordon grunted, he did not like being reminded of those incidents.

"Never mind," said one of the Union Pacific workmen who came along on the train, "We can fix that bufferbeam of yours tonight and have you ready for your runs tomorow."

"That's good to hear," said Gordon's Driver, "I only hope though that the guard of that goods train will learn to do his job properly next time."

Gordon hoped so too.

**Author's Note:**

This story is based on a real life event that occured to Challenger 3985 when it was Clinchfield 676 in November 1992. As it came around a sharp curve, 676's running board on the left side smashed into a coal car, smashing it and bending the running board out of shape. Luckily nobody was hurt and the running board was repaired that same night by the CSX crews.


	85. A Steaming Helper

_**A Steaming Helper**_

Gordon's bufferbeam was badly twisted, but by the time morning came, the workmen finished their work and now Gordon's bufferbeam looked brand new.

"Very nice," said the fireman when he and the Driver arrived for work, "it looks as though you never had the accident."

"Gordon had an accident?" asked a voice from behind them. The Driver hadn't heard the person coming up from behind them, and so when the person asked that question, he jumped in fright, "sorry dad, I didn't mean to scare you."

The Driver and fireman turned around and saw who the voice belonged to, it was Geoff the young Steamworks worker.

"Geoff?" exclaimed Gordon, "what are you doing here? I thought you were too busy to come along with us."

"I thought so too, but it turned out that there was alot less work to do than I had thought and so my boss gave me some time off and I decided to come to see how you're doing on your railtour. Now what was that I heard about an accident?"

Gordon's Driver explained everything to his son while the fireman went to work in Gordon's cab to get him ready for the rail enthusiasts.

By the time they had arrived, Gordon had a good head of steam and Geoff had been told everything about the previous day's incident. "Just don't tell anyone of what happened," Gordon groaned to Geoff, "James and Henry would never let me hear the end of it if they knew."

"Don't worry Gordon, my lips are sealed," Geoff promised.

"Knowing your luck though," chuckled the fireman, "the story will probably have spread to Sodor long before we come back."

Gordon groaned quietly, but he had to smile when the rail enthusiasts started taking photographs and videos of him once again. They took so many that Gordon didn't know which way to look again. Finally, the railtour staff shooed them to the coaches so they could finally get started.

"Good luck on the rest of your railtour Gordon," Ashley called from her siding, "and be careful out there today. From what I can see, we're going to have a fierce storm today."

Gordon looked up and saw the dark clouds rolling in, "Thanks for the warning," he said just as the guard blew his whistle. His Driver opened the regulator, Gordon dug his wheels into the sand and began to roll out of the big Station of Music City U.S.A. "Thank you for being good company, I hope to see you again soon."

"Oh I'm sure you will!" Ashley called back.

Gordon gave off a friendly 'Poop! Poop!' to Ashley and Ashley whistled 'TOOOT! TOOOOT!' back to Gordon.

"Cor blimey, that's one loud whistle," groaned Geoff, who was riding in Gordon's cab, "I don't think my ears will stop ringing for weeks."

"Oh don't worry son," said Gordon's Driver, "you'll get used to them real soon."

Gordon made timing along the main line, but sometime after they left Music City U.S.A, the rain started to come down. Slowly at first and then faster and faster, "yuck!" groaned Gordon, who wished he was in a nice warm dry shed.

Gordon's journey took him across Tennessee and right into Pennsylvania with no troubles and no incidents. He was having the time of his life, that was until he and his crew saw a signal showing that we were to go into a siding.

"What's the meaning of this?" Gordon asked crossly, "I've got a railtour train that can't be delayed."

"Can't be helped Gordon," said his Driver as they went slowly into the siding, "trains must get through you know."

Gordon sulked unhappily and soon stopped with his entire train safely on the siding. The rain was pouring down hard on him, which soured his mood badly. Finally, the reason why they were stopped came into view. It was a goods train with three diesels on the point, they hooted and laughed at Gordon as they roared by.

"Steaming slow coach!" they called and roared away.

Gordon grumbled under his breath and looked away crossly. His crew and Geoff watched the other train pass. On each of the trucks were either one or two containers on them, "I think that's called a stack train," said Geoff, "I've heard of them, they carry containers full of stuff from one location to another. They might be useful, but they can be quite heavy."

It was only a few minutes, but Gordon thought it was ages before the train's last truck rattled past them and disappeared into the distance. The points were changed and Gordon was given the all clear, "silly diesels," he muttered and rolled out of the siding.

His mood didn't improve as he puffed along, he was cross and wanted more than anything to pay those silly diesels out. Little did he know that he would soon get his chance.

He soon reached Pittsburg Station, his last night stop before the big journey to Strasburg. As he pulled up to the station, he saw the stationmaster waiting for him.

"Thank goodness you've come," he said, "we got a bit of a problem out on the main line and we need your help."

"What seems to be the problem?" asked the Driver.

"We got a stalled manifest train stuck out on the main line," he answered, "too much train for those engines and we've got other trains that need that line, so will you please get it moving again?"

"We'll have to check with the person in charge of the railtour, but I'm sure we can help clear your line."

When the person in charge of the railtour was told of what was going on, he agreed that Gordon could go help. Gordon was sulky at first, but when he learned that the stalled train was the same one that passed him before, his attitude changed, "this will show them good and proper," he puffed cheerfully to himself.

He was uncoupled from the coaches and set off to the rescue. Many of the rail enthusiasts boarded buses and went off to chase Gordon to the stalled train.

Soon Gordon found the stalled train. The diesels were struggling to get their train moving, but nothing they did worked.

"Need a little help?" Gordon called from the back.

"No!" snapped the lead diesel, "we don't need help from a slow old fashioned fossil like you! So why don't you go back to your little toy train and ask them to send a real engine to help?!"

"I am a real engine," Gordon called back, "plus they don't have any other engines that can help."

"Oh joy," grumbled the three diesels in unison.

Gordon gently buffered up behind the container train, then his Driver got out and placed plenty of sand on the rails. When all was ready, Gordon gave off a 'Poop! Poop!' to let the diesels know he was ready.

"He'll never be able to get us started," snickered the second diesel.

"We'll be stuck out here all night," agreed the third diesel.

Gordon heard them, but payed no attention. He dug his wheels into the sand and gave a great heave while the diesels pulled from the front. They pulled and pushed, pushed and pulled, but the train didn't move an inch, "come on! Come on! Come On!" Gordon grunted and put a little more puff into his effort.

The diesels smirked, but suddenly they noticed that they were starting to move.

"I don't believe it," gasped the front diesel, "this can't be happening."

"Oh but it is!" shouted Gordon from the back and put more effort into his puff.

The rail enthusiasts cheered for joy and took their photos and videos of Gordon's rescue operation. The diesels helped, but they said nothing more, they felt foolish of having been pushed by something that they thought was useless.

They soon reached the next station where another diesel was waiting to couple up.

"Now what was that you were saying about me earlier?" Gordon called in a cheeky way. The diesels grunted crossly and said nothing again. The other diesel chuckled and coupled up to the train while Gordon was uncoupled and ran all the way back to Pittsburg, light engine.

"Not bad for an old engine like him," said the other diesel.

"Oh shut up!" snapped the three diesels as the train continued on it's way.

The next morning, Gordon was backed down on the railtour train one more time and was greeted by flashes of light from all the cameras from all the visitors at the station as well as the rail enthusiasts.

"Would you look at all these people," gasped Geoff, "I've never seen such a huge crowd."

"There's a good reason why son," said his father, "just look at the newspaper."

Geoff looked at the newspaper his father brought into the cab. On the front page was a picture of Gordon pushing behind the stalled manifest train and the headlines read 'Famous Sodor Engine Gets Stalled Freight moving.'

"Well I guess that would explain the large crowds here," smiled Geoff, "Gordon's probably enjoying every moment of it."

Geoff was right, Gordon was enjoying all the attention, "now this I can brag to Henry and James when I go back to Sodor," he thought proudly to himself.

After several minutes, the passengers left to board the coaches and once they were all on board, the guard blew his whistle and Gordon set off out of the station to a chrous of cheers and honking horns and with many photographs and videos being taken of him. Not long after he left the station, Gordon met the three diesels again, "need another helping help?" he called cheekily.

The diesels either grunted or shouted at Gordon, but their words were drowned out by Gordon and his railtour train rolling past. It was a good thing too, cause what they said didn't sound very polite.

It took almost all day, but soon Gordon arrived at the junction for the Strasburg Railroad. He rolled smoothly onto the line and puffed all the way to the main railway station where he was greeted by a large crowd of people and several engines on sidings. There was also a sign saying, "Welcome to Strasburg Gordon!"

Gordon felt proud, "I can't wait to tell Henry and James about this when I get home," he thought to himself.

But of course, Henry and James found out long before then. They laughed at Gordon's incident, but when they heard that Gordon helped a stalled Manifest train, they stopped laughing and remained respectfully silent.

**Author's Note:**

This story was deeply inspired by a real life event where Union Pacific 844's crew offered to help move a stalled freight train in 2011. However, unlike in this story, the Union Pacific sent diesels to help move the train.


	86. A New Funnel for Peter Sam

_**A New Funnel for Peter Sam**_

Should you ever look to the high hills of Sodor where the Skarloey Railway engines work, then you might see Peter Sam puffing along the line with either a goods train or a passenger train. As you watch him puff along though, you might notice that he's got a flat funnel, which leaves you asking the question, "What happened to his square funnel?" Well I will tell you the whole story of how Peter Sam got that new funnel.

It began on a beautiful spring afternoon at the Blue Mountain Quarry. Peter Sam was shunting some trucks together with some difficulty.

"We don't want to move, we want to stay! We don't want to move, we want to stay!" they protested.

Luke the Quarry engine was watching Peter Sam struggle, "need a hand Peter Sam?!" he called.

"Uh no thanks Luke! I'm fine, I just need to teach these trucks to behave," Peter Sam called back and bumped the trucks hard.

"Okay, but I'll help if..." but Luke was cut off by the sounds of a loud diesel horn. It wasn't either Rusty or Dan's horns, "opps, got to go," and Luke puffed off with his empty trucks into the tunnel. It wasn't going to be for another few months that the Thin Controller would learn about Luke's pressence in the quarry.

Paxton rolled into the quarry with his long line of trucks to be filled up. He saw Peter Sam struggling and sniggered, "you should give up and let a diesel do the job properly," he said rudely, "at least we can work without the need of a box on top of us."

The trucks started laughing when they heard that remark, "maybe you should give up Peter Sam the Boxy Engine."

"Peter Sam the boxy engine, it suits you just fine," sniggered Paxton.

Peter Sam didn't like the rude remarks, but unlike Duncan or Sir Handel, he didn't lose his temper. He just bumped the trucks to get them to behave and departed once coupled up.

"See you later Boxy Funnel!" Paxton called in a cheeky way.

Peter Sam didn't respond and puffed away towards the Wharf.

Later that night, he was talking with some of the other engines about his day's work and many of them were shocked by the rude remarks mentioned, "you should've told them to shut up," said Sir Handel, "and wheese steam at that silly diesel Paxton."

"I think Peter Sam did the right thing by ignoring those remarks," said Skarloey, "losing your temper will only lead you into trouble."

"Not really," sniffed Sir Handel, "it's actually helped me out quite a bit in the past."

That of course was not true, but the Skarloey engines knew that if they tried to argue aganist Sir Handel, it would lead to a fight that would last all evening, so they said nothing at all.

Just then, Mighty Mac came puffing into the shed. Sakura was the first to notice something different on Mighty's end of the double engine, "cor blimey, what happened to your cab?" she asked, "it looks like something hit it."

"Something did hit it," Mighty grumbled as he looked up to the damaged right side of his cab, "we were puffing along with a goods train when all of the sudden, a big tree branch went smacking into my end of the cab and bent it badly."

"Serves you right for not keeping a good look out," smirked Mac.

"I _was_ keeping a good look out," snapped Mighty, "it just came out of nowhere."

"So you say, a tree branch can't just come out of nowhere and smack your end of the cab."

"It can and it did!"

"Alright that's enough you two," said Skarloey, trying to restore order to the situation, "we don't need another argument tonight." The two ends of the engine went silent at once, "from what you've said, it sounds like vandalism again."

"Oh for crying out loud," groaned Sir Handel, "don't we have enough problems with vandals?"

"They don't care what you think, they only think about having fun," said Sakura, "which means we'll have to keep an eye out for these trouble-makers and report them to the Thin Controller or the Owner as soon as possible."

"Indeed," agreed Skarloey.

The next afternoon, Peter Sam was on passenger duties with the old coaches. They liked going out with him cause he was always so kind to them and never bumped them like Sir Handel and Duncan do.

During his last run of the day, Peter Sam was waiting at the main line junction for Morgan to arrive with his passengers. As he waited, Duke came into view with a goods train and as he passed, Peter Sam noticed that the van had been damaged on the right side, "hey Granpuff, what happened to your van?" he called.

But Duke was too far away to hear Peter Sam properly and continued on down the line.

Finally, Morgan arrived and the passengers went from one train to another. Then once they were on board, Peter Sam puffed out of the station, "first Mighty's cab gets damaged and then Granpuff's brake van gets damaged, what could be causing it?" he thought to himself.

The answer was in a small forest just down the line. A small group of school girls were in the forest waiting for a train to come, but they didn't want to wave to the train - no, they wanted to scare it badly using a very big branch from a tree that was hanging out too close to the railway. They had already used it on Mighty Mac and Duke's brake van in the hopes of scaring them and now they wanted to scare another engine.

"I hope it's that same engine from yesterday," snickered the leader of the group, "it'd be funny to hear him scream again."

One of the girls wasn't so sure about this, "are you sure we should be doing this Mindy?" she asked nervously, "what if we get caught? My parents would scolde me for life."

"We won't get caught," boasted Mindy the Leader, "but if you're scared to do this, you can go home. Just don't expect to hang out with us again."

The girl didn't like hearing that, she liked hanging out with Mindy and the other girls. So instead of leaving, she stayed with them and waited for the next train.

At the same time, Peter Sam was coming into the forest with his passenger train. His Driver pulled on the whistle chain, letting everyone know they were coming.

"Here comes one, get ready ladies," said Mindy.

The three other girls grabbed hold of the low hanging branch and pulled it back as far as they could go, "hold it right there and wait for my signal," called Mindy.

"Hope it's soon," groaned one of the girls.

Peter Sam was getting closer to the tree, unaware of the danger that was ahead of him. He whistled one more time, then, "Now!" cried a voice.

"What?" exclaimed Peter Sam. Suddenly without warning, a huge tree branch flung straight towards him. His crew ducked for cover, but it wasn't the cab that was going to get hit, it was Peter Sam's funnel! The huge tree branch smacked Peter Sam's funnel with a large blow that it was knocked right off his smokebox.

"OWW!" cried Peter Sam.

"Uh Oh," groaned the three girls in unison. Mindy wasn't worried, "slightly off coarse, but it's fine," she said, "let's go."

And on that note, the girls took off, but not before being seen by the Driver. Once Peter Sam stopped, he ran after the troublesome girls, but he couldn't catch up with them, "bother those kids, why can't they behave themselves?"

He went back to the train to see if everyone was okay. The passengers were shaken and surprised, but there were no injuries.

The fireman ran back to the spot of the accident and picked up Peter Sam's funnel, "first an icicle breaks off your first funnel off and now a branch smacks off your special funnel, you are an unlucky engine Peter Sam."

"Ohh," groaned Peter Sam. He was starting to think that his fireman was right.

They continued on to the next station with smoke blowing everywhere, the passengers had to close their windows throughout the rest of the run. They weren't happy about having smoke blow into their faces, but they knew Peter Sam couldn't help it, so they didn't blame him. They instead blamed the silly schoolgirls and hoped that they get caught soon.

When they reached the next station, Peter Sam's fireman phoned the Thin Controller and told him everything that had happened, "oh dear, not again," he said on the other end of the phone, "well get Peter Sam off that train, I'll send for Sir Handel to collect him."

When the fireman came back, Peter Sam was uncoupled from the train and ran onto a siding out of the way. Rusty, who was working close by, was coupled up to the coaches and took them away. Sir Handel soon arrived and towed Peter Sam back to the sheds. Thankfully this time, Sir Handel never said a single word about the damaged funnel.

Peter Sam had to stay in the shed for a couple of weeks, watching as the other engines went off to work. He wished he could join them and mourned for his broken funnel.

Finally the day came when the funnel arrived, which looked strange to Peter Sam.

"Uh sir, why is that funnel flat? It looks like someone sat on it."

The Thin Controller laughed and explained, "nobody sat on it Peter Sam, it was designed to be flat," he said, "this funnel is designed with special pipes to help make puffing easier for you, just like your original retangular funnel. This funnel was tested years ago on your brother 'Edward Thomas' and it proved to be useful for him for a few years, so the owner and I decided to have one built for you. Hopefully, it will help you greatly with your work."

"I hope so too," Peter Sam said doubtfully as he looked at the funnel again.

Nowadays though, Peter Sam is pleased with his new funnel. Although some engines teased him and asked him why he sat on it, the jokes stopped when he proved how useful it was. Even Paxton had stopped making fun of that funnel and even admits Peter Sam is a useful engine, just don't ask him if he agrees.

Still I bet you're wondering, what happened to Mindy and the other girls. Well, they were soon caught and were told to work on the railway to pay for all the damage they had caused. I bet now they wish they hadn't been so silly, don't you think so?


	87. A Tree of a Problem

_**A Tree of a Problem**_

Duncan had not been feeling well, he often felt short of steam and more often than not, he stopped halfway threw his journeys and had to be rescued by another engine.

This was proven one night when Luke the Quarry Engine arrived with Duncan in tow.

"Oh no not again Duncan, what's the matter with you?" Sir Handel asked rudely, "did you take on the wrong sort of coal?"

"No," groaned Duncan, "it's my boiler, it's giving out on me too much lately."

Just then, the Thin Controller arrived after getting the call about Duncan being brought back to the sheds by Luke, "that's the third time this month that you've had to be rescued Duncan," he said, "and from what I've heard, I think it's time you had an overhaul."

"Oh geez another overhaul," grumbled Sir Handel, "that's all we need, now we'll be short one engine again."

"Actually we won't this time Sir Handel," said the Thin Controller, "while Duncan is going to be in the Steamworks, we're going to have another engine come to do his work and if this one does well, then she will join the railway as a permanent engine."

"Sir, where do you keep finding these engines?" Peter Sam asked curiously.

"Sometimes they just find me," he chuckled, "but actually, I found out about this one during a trip my family and I took when we went to India. At the time, she was working with passenger runs, but she was finding out that she wasn't being used as much as she used to, mostly due to the diesels that were coming to work on that line."

"Then after hearing that she was going to be retired from service, the owner and I bought the engine and had it restored in the Steamworks."

"I was wondering who that engine was," Luke said out loud, "I remember seeing one in the back of the Steamworks when I last visited the place."

"Thankfully," the Thin Controller continued, "her overhaul work is complete and she'll be arriving first thing tomorrow morning. Which means Duncan," he paused as he turned to the yellow engine, "You'll be going to the Steamworks tonight for your overhaul."

"Thank you sir," groaned Duncan and suddenly let out a wheesing cough, which was followed by a huge cloud of black smoke which shot into the air and covered everyone in the yards with dirty smelly coal dust. "Sorry," Duncan coughed, "my funnel's probably clogged too."

"Well we'll have the Steamworks crew look that funnel of yours over too," added the Thin Controller and then left for home.

Duncan was taken away that night by Luke while the other engines talked about their newest addition, "I'm sure the new engine will do quite well, as long as she's not like Arnold," said Smudger.

"We can only hope," Sir Handel muttered.

The following next morning, the engines could hear steam hissing coming from outside the sheds. When their Drivers arrived, they opened the doors, which allowed the engines to finally see who was outside.

It was a dark blue tank engine with four driving wheels, a curve tank in between the coal bunkers and a very tall funnel and had a very big cab.

She also had a name on her tanks which read 'Jasmine' and a number on both sides of her cab '796'. The other engines thought she looked very smart, Sir Handel especially, "a proper color for a very proper engine," he said.

"Uh, is that a compliment?" Jasmine the New Engine asked.

"Coming from Sir Handel, it is," Smudger answered, "it's high pharse indeed."

Skarloey then spoke up, "welcome to the Skarloey Railway," he said kindly and then one by one, the engines all introduced themselves to her.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said cheerfully, "I'm Jasmine, an engine from the Darieeling Himalayan Railway."

Just then, the Thin Controller arrived with Mr. Hugh. Both men were pleased with the craftsmanship of the engine and the restoration work that was done. After they were done looking at their new engine, the Thin Controller spoke to Jasmine, "I have a job for you Jasmine, I would like you to go down to the Blue Mountain Quarry with Sakura and take some loaded trucks down to the Wharf. Make sure you listen to every instruction she gives you."

"I will sir," she said.

Once Sakura was in steam, the two engines went over to the goods yard, collected some empty trucks and set off towards the Blue Mountain Quarry.

When they arrived, they found that the quarry was very busy with Luke shunting trucks on the upper levels of the quarry, Owen was bringing loaded trucks down to the ground floor so the stones could be loaded up into the stranded gauge trucks and Merrick was moving huge pieces of stone down to the cutters to be cut up.

Jasmine was amazed, "I've never seen a quarry this big before," she said, "then again, I've never seen a quarry before."

"Never seen a quarry before?" called a voice from the top floor of the quarry. It was coming from Owen the Incline engine. Jasmine nearly jumped when she heard him shout, "sorry didn't mean to spook you!" he called down.

"It's alright," she called back, "and no I've never been to a quarry before, this is my first ever visit to one. Throughout my entire working life, I've worked in a forest taking passengers and small goods trains."

"Well don't worry Jasmine, we'll show you what you have to do," said Sakura.

And that's just what they did, they told Jasmine everything she needed to and soon she was working as though she had been working in the quarry for many years, "she's a fast learner that Jasmine," Luke's Driver said as he looked down to Jasmine.

"You can say that again," smiled Luke and went back to work.

She was not only a fast learner, but she was a fast worker too. By the time Sakura had loaded half her trucks, Jasmine had all of hers loaded up.

"Cor blimey, I've haven't seen fast shunting like that in a long time," Sakura exclaimed, "I think you're more than ready to take those trucks to the Wharf. Just a little advice though, keep a good look out, you never know what could be around the next corner."

"Thanks for the advice," Jasmine said kindly and puffed off with her train.

Far away from the Blue Mountain Quarry, Madge was travelling along with a tree on her flatbed. Earlier in the week, an 80 year old tree was on the verge of being cut down as ordered by a town mayor. Thankfully a man stopped it from happening by buying the tree and said he would have it moved to his property far off from the high hills of Sodor.

Madge was driving along slowly down the lane, the Driver often looked back to his cargo with a worried look. Instead of having it on it's side, the tree was standing upright due to it's size.

"I hope that tree doesn't get caught on anything," he thought to himself, but it would.

As he approached a railroad crossing, one of the branches got caught on a power line. The branch held firm and the tree moved slowly off the trailer, "what's that sound?" asked Madge's Driver. He looked back and saw to his horror that the tree was moving off the flatbed and by the time he could stop, it was too late. The tree came right off the lorry and landed right on the railway tracks.

Madge's Driver drove her off the crossing and ran back to the tree, "I don't believe it," he groaned, "that's all we needed, I better phone to have this line closed down."

He got out his mobile phone, but before he could dail a number, he heard a whistle in the distance.

"Oh no!" Madge gasped, "not now!"

It was Jasmine, she was puffing along down the line with her trucks and taking a look at the scenery all around her. Madge's Driver ran down the line, waving frantically to get their attention. Luckily, Jasmine and her crew saw Madge's Driver waving frantically and also saw the tree on the line.

"Whoa Jasmine!" cried the Driver and applied the brakes as hard as he could.

Jasmine's brakes came on with a groan as she skidded along the line, hoping to stop before she ran into the branches. Thankfully she slowed down enough that the branches brushed slowly across Jasmine's funnel and stopped before the cab.

"Whew," gasped Madge's Driver, "that was too close, that would've been a nasty situation."

He finally made the phone call and soon, Butch the Tow Truck arrived and lifted the tree back onto Madge's flatbed. "Sorry about the delay," Madge called before leaving, "but accidents happen from time to time."

Jasmine accepted the apology and departed once the two lorries had left with the tree.

The Thin Controller was waiting close to Colin the Crane, he was wondering what happened to Jasmine. Finally she pulled in, fifteen minutes late, "I'm sorry about the delay sir, but we got held up by a tree."

She then explained to the Thin Controller of what happened. When she had finished, the Thin Controller spoke kindly to her, "it's okay Jasmine, I'm not cross with you, I'm just glad you arrived safe and sound," he said, "and that you didn't lose your funnel by those branches like Peter Sam did."

Jasmine was confused, but decided to wait till later to find out what happened. In the meantime, she took her trucks over to the sidings and sighed with relief to know that she escaped with only a _branch _off.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by a real life event when a multi-millionaire bought a very old tree that was suppose to be cut down and had it moved to his property. Of course, the journey was anything but perfect as the tree hit some power lines, dragged along on the flatbed of a lorry and fell onto the tracks. The driver was able to warn the passenger train, which was coming on the other line. The train stopped with only a few branches brushing up aganist the roof of the engine. This event took place on April 26th 1961 along the Florida East Coast's double tracked main line.


	88. Given the Branch Off

_**Given the Branch Off**_

Jasmine settled in very well on the Skarloey Railway following that incident with the tree, all of her trains ran to perfect time and there were complaints made aganist her. She also got along quite well with the Skarloey Railway engines, especially Sir Handel, who wanted to know everything about her.

"What was your old railway like?" Sir Handel asked.

"Oh it was a very beautiful line," Jasmine said with a smile on her face, "it ran threw forests, valleys and passed threw many towns. There were also plenty of people to keep the line busy, it was a piece of paradise."

"That sounds lovely," Duke said kindly.

"But if there was lots to do to keep you busy, why were you bought up by the Owner and the Thin Controller?" Sakura asked.

"Well it has a lot to do with the diesels that came to the Darieeling Himalayan Railway," Jasmine answered, "they started taking over our work and we were being used less and less until such a time we were to be retired. My sister, No 795 Hailey, went off to a railway museum while I was bought by your Controller and Owner and given my overhaul," Jasmine sighed unhappily, "I do miss Hailey though, I hope she's okay wherever she is."

At that moment, the Thin Controller arrived at the sheds with a concerned look on his face, "Mr. Hugh's just informed me that Rusty's broken down and won't be able to take the works train, which means other arrangements have to be put into place," he said. He paused and looked at the other engines, "Sir Handel, you will take Rusty's works train while Jasmine takes Millicent and Gertrude. Luke and Sakura can handle the rest of the work until Rusty is repaired."

He then gave out the rest of the jobs to the other engines, then he left as he headed back to his office.

"Take good care of those coaches," Sir Handel advised to Jasmine, "they are the only real coaches we have on the railway."

Skarloey, Rheneas and Duke all eyed Sir Handel firmly while Peter Sam, Sakura and Freddie hushed him. Jasmine promised she would look after the coaches and puffed off to collect them.

"Where's Sir Handel?" asked Gertrude, "he usually takes us."

"Sir Handel's going to be working on the Works train, I'm to be taking you out today," Jasmine said to them as she buffered up gently to them.

Once coupled up, Jasmine set off to the next station where Niki was waiting with the stopping passenger train. The two engines talked for a bit as the passengers changed trains, but then their conversation was cut off by the sounds of a grumbling engine.

"Niki thinks that would be Sir Handel," said Niki.

And it was Sir Handel, he was coming along with the Works train, "an express engine taking a Works train, what a liberty," he grumbled and disappeared into the distance.

"Niki sees Sir Handel's being the old Sir Handel that Niki and the others have seen before," said the Jubilee engine.

Jasmine chuckled and departed once the guard's whistle had blown. She pulled away smoothly and carefully out of the station, "that was so kind," said Millicent.

"She reminds me of Sir Handel and it's not just because of the paintwork," added Gertrude.

Jasmine just smiled, but then sighed, "I only wish Hailey could see me now."

Meanwhile, Sir Handel was puffing along the line with the works train. It's a very important train on the Skarloey Railway, for it takes the workmen to any part of the line that needs repairing and make sure nothing will harm the engines, rolling stock or the passengers. Although it was an important train, Sir Handel did not enjoy taking it.

It was slow and it took a long time to do the work, "I'll never understand why Rusty enjoys this work," he grumbled as he puffed along, "how can he stand it?"

"It's simple, Rusty doesn't complain like some engines I could mention," his fireman said in a teasing way.

"Oh be quiet," snapped Sir Handel.

Throughout most of the day, Sir Handel would often have to wait in sidings while the workmen did any work they had to do. Normally Sir Handel wouldn't mind a rest once and a while, he didn't enjoy sitting around and doing nothing and worse still, some of the other engines that passed him during the day would tease him.

"Any slower and you'll be going backwards Sir Handel," Mac called in a teasing way.

"I hope Mr. Hugh can fix Rusty's engine as soon as possible," Sir Handel muttered his breath, "the sooner I'm away from this train the better."

Soon they reached the forest where Peter Sam had his second funnel knocked off. Sir Handel kept an eye out, just to be on the safe side, but as he did that, he noticed that one of the trees was close to the line, "hmm, that could be troublesome," he thought to himself and told his Driver, who stopped the train.

The workmen got out and took a look, "Well that explains it," said one of the workmen, "it was moved last night during that heavy windstorm we had."

"That's impossible, wind can't move trees," protested Sir Handel.

"If the soil is moist enough and there's a strong wind, then yeah it can," said his fireman, "remember what you heard about James' encounter with a tree?"

Sir Handel did remember it, it was something he didn't want to think about. The workmen took a further look at the tree, "although it's moved closer to the railway, I think it's safe here for a while," said one of them, "but still, we might want to check on it again later tonight on our way back."

On that note, the workmen climbed back into their van, then Sir Handel puffed away.

A little later that day, the heavy winds returned with a torrential downpour. It was a fierce storm, but despite it all, Jasmine continued to puff along with the coaches rattling behind her, "it's nothing I haven't face before," she puffed to herself, "Hailey and I used to battle storms like this all the time in India."

Due to the heavy rains though, Jasmine found that seeing was difficult and worst still, she couldn't see what was up ahead.

The tree that Sir Handel had noticed earlier was now moving closer to the line thanks to the rain making the ground soft and with the wind blowing aganist it. It moved until it hit the fence, which stopped it from moving, but it's branches were now sticking out over the railway line.

Jasmine and her crew didn't see it until it was too late. One moment they were puffing along smoothly, then the next...BANG!

"Ouch!" cried Jasmine, "what just happened?"

Jasmine's Driver applied the brakes quickly and brought the train to a stop, then he and the fireman went to the coaches to see if the passengers were okay. They were shaken by the sudden bang and the jerk of the train, but they were okay.

The same couldn't be said for Jasmine as they noticed that the right side of her cab had been smashed inward and several pieces of broken glass sat inside the cab.

"As the others would say, 'Cor Blimey', how did this happen?" asked the Driver.

One of the passengers knew, "it was a branch that hit you, that's what."

"A branch, but how?" asked the fireman.

"If it was those troublemakers again, I'm going to scolde their parents for this," grumbled the Guard.

At last, the rain died down and everyone could see that it wasn't the cause of troublemakers, it was just the tree that moved too close to the line. One of the branches from that tree had smacked Jasmine hard in the cab.

"Just a minor dent," said the fireman as he checked Jasmine over, "and it looks like it hit your whistle too. It might still work, but it probably won't stop even after we let go of the chain."

"It's better if we don't take the chance," said the Driver, "we'll go on to the next station and I'll inform the Thin Controller about this."

Once the pieces of glass from the window had been removed from the cab, Jasmine continued on to the next station where the crew informed the Thin Controller. He then phoned Sir Handel's crew and told them about the tree and while they went off to deal with the branches and the tree itself, Dan was sent to help bring Jasmine and the train home.

Henry was waiting at the station when he saw Dan pulling Jasmine into the station, he was surprised by the damage on her cab.

When he was told of what happened, he had to ask the obvious question, "what is it with you little engines and trees, you have more trouble with them than we do on the main line."

Jasmine said nothing. The passengers changed trains and Henry departed for the Big Station at Knapford.

Dan took Jasmine to the Steamworks where they found the Thin Controller waiting for them, "well that's some serious damage," he said, "I'm just glad you and your crew are okay Jasmine."

"Thank you sir," Jasmine sighed, "I'm quite glad of that too, but I wonder when I'm going to stop being given the 'branch' off."

**Author's Note:**

This story was deeply inspired by the real event that occured to Sir Handel's own twin, Sir Haydn on June 1st 1999 when he got a branch smacked into his own cab due to a tree that was too close to the line.


	89. A Storm of a Time

_**A Storm of a Time**_

The repairs on Jasmine's cab were soon finished and the blue tank engine from India was able to return back to the sheds. It was already late and all the other engines were settling in for a good night's rest.

"I'm glad the day's work is done," grumbled Sir Handel, "now I can rest without having the rain pour down hard on my boiler."

"Perhaps, but you'll still be getting rain pouring down on your boiler tomorrow Sir Handel," said Duke's fireman.

"What?" Sir Handel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I just heard on the radio that we're to be getting a storm tomorrow and from what the announcer was saying, it's going to be quite a firece storm. It might be worse than what we got today."

"Oh joy," groaned Sir Handel.

"Oh well, look on the bright side of things Sir Handel," said Rusty, who was parked inside the shed. "Mr. Hugh's fixed my engine up as good as new, so I should be able to take the Works train in your place tomorrow."

"Well you're more than welcome to take it back, cause I don't like pulling that train."

While he was glad not to be taking the Works train anymore, he wasn't looking forward to his run tomorrow - especially not with the heavy rain due to fall.

Jasmine wasn't looking forward to it either and looked up to the sky in a thoughtful manner, "I hope you're staying dry wherever you are Hailey," she muttered quietly to herself.

The storm arrived later that night. Winds were strong, heavy rains fell from the sky, lightning would flash on occassion, which was always followed by a loud boom of thunder.

None of the Skarloey Railway engines could sleep well that night.

"That was one fierce storm last night," Mac said before letting out a big yawn the following next morning, "I think we should take some time off to rest."

"No chance of that Mac," said Duke, "there's work that needs to be done and we can't let the railway down."

Rheneas was quick to agree, "goods and passengers won't deliver themselves to their destinations," he said, "we have to get them there, regardless of the weather."

Just then, the Thin Controller walked up to the sheds, he was wearing a big brown jacket and had a pair of wellington boots on.

"I hope you slept well last night, we've got a lot of work to do today," he said, "Rusty; you'll be on maintenance duties today, but you might need help, so I'm sending Peter Sam to help you."

"Whew," sighed Sir Handel, he was glad not to be working with the Works train.

"Sir Handel, Skarloey and Smudger, you three will be on passenger duties today," continued the Thin Controller, "Sakura, Rheneas and Duke, I need you three down at the Blue Mountain Quarry as there is a huge stone request today. Next, Mighty Mac, Freddie and Dan, you three will be working at the incline today."

He then turned to Jasmine, "and as for you our new engine, I have a special job for you. A train of important passengers is coming to our railway to see all the sights of the hills and they have asked for you to take them there. But be careful along the way, the heavy rains might wash some of the sand off the rails, so make sure you get a good run at the hill and have plenty of sand with you."

"Yes sir," said Jasmine, "we'll do our best today."

"That's a good engine, good luck and I'll see you later," and on that note, the Thin Controller turned on his heel and walked away from the sheds.

Soon the crews arrived and the engines all set off out of the sheds. Jasmine was the last to leave the sheds. She puffed over to the yards and collected the old coaches; Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima and Beatrice.

"Do we have to go out?" Agnes asked, "the rain's going to ruin my lovely paintwork."

"No it won't," said Ruth, "a little rainwater won't hurt."

"Well if you're scared of the rain," giggled one of the nearby trucks, "you can always stay in a tunnel like the main line's big green tender engine did once," this statement was followed by laughter from the other trucks.

"What cheek!" exclaimed Agnes, "I would never dare stay in a tunnel, they are dirty and would easily ruin my paintwork."

The trucks continued to laugh at Agnes until the other coaches told them to stop and Jasmine pulled the coaches out of the yards.

At the station, BoCo was waiting with all of his passengers, "Good morning Jasmine," he said, "are you excited for today?"

"Indeed I am," she answered. Just then, there came a large flash of lightning, which was followed by a loud boom of thunder, "although I wish it was nice and sunny out."

"So do I," BoCo said in agreement, "this kind of weather is only perfect for ducks, no pun intended of course."

"Huh?" Jasmine asked, but before she could get the complete answer, BoCo's guard blew the whistle and BoCo set off down the line.

The passengers didn't take Jasmine's picture this time, they instead boarded the train, "I don't blame them," muttered Jasmine, "BoCo was right, this is the kind of weather for ducks."

Agnes did blame them though, "they are wet, they will ruin my beautiful seats," she grumbled.

"Oh quit your whining," snapped Lucy, "they can't help being wet, it is raining after all."

"Rain, rain go away and don't ever come back," grumbled Agnes.

The other coaches groaned and said no more. At last the passengers were on board, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, then the journey began.

It wasn't an easy journey though as the heavy rain did indeed wash the sand off the rails, resulting in slipping wheels and to add their problems, the rain would sometimes fall right onto Jasmine's face, making it difficult for her and her crew to see. Despite all the problems, they struggled on along the line, determined not to be beaten.

"As Rheneas would probably say, 'we can't let them down, we can't let them down'," Jasmine puffed to herself.

And they didn't. They continued to give the passengers a good run and soon reached the last station of the line with time to spare. As luck would have it, the weather lightened up there, which allowed the passengers a chance to look into the high hills.

"Well I say that's the worst part of the journey over," said the Driver, but he was going to be proven wrong.

Less than ten minutes later, the heavy rains returned and the storm seemed to get worse. The passengers all rushed to the coaches completely soaked, "dry yourself off before getting into me," retorted Agnes. The passengers didn't listen to her, they wanted to stay dry, so they jumped into the coaches and slammed the doors, "what horrible visitors," cried Agnes, "I've had those doors for a long time."

"They just want to stay dry Agnes," said Jemima, "besides, I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

Agnes didn't believe her, she thought the passengers were trying to vandilse her, "if they try anything else, I'll stop this train," but she thought it only to herself.

Jasmine ran quickly round her train and went to the back. Unlike the other Skarloey engines, Jasmine doesn't have a wall for the back of her cab, so that meant that the rain could get into the cab and soak the crew. The solution to their problem was to use a tarpaulin to cover the entire back end of the cab. It wasn't pretty, but it helped to keep the crew dry.

Finally the the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag and Jasmine pulled smoothly out of the station.

The storm was fierce, but Jasmine continued on at a good pace and didn't slip once on the rails. This was going to change though as they reached 'Culdee Fell' hill. It's a very steep hill and unless the engine makes a good effort, they will stall and slide back to the bottom. Jasmine had heard the story of how Skarloey and Rheneas struggled up the hill in the old days and was determined not to have history repeat itself.

"I can make it, I can make it," she huffed and puffed.

But she wouldn't. It was, in Agnes' point of view, one of the passenger's fault. One passenger wanted some pictures of the Culdee Fell hill, so he opened the window and prepared to take a picture, but it was at that moment that heavy rain waters poured into Agnes.

"Right, that's it!" snapped Agnes and slammed on her brakes, "Stop this train at once!"

"What the?" exclaimed Jasmine as she felt the train hold back aganist her, "come on coaches, come on!"

She struggled on, but with the brakes on Agnes and with wet rails under her wheels, Jasmine couldn't get the train over the top and stopped halfway up with her little old wheels slipping.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" cried Jasmine.

It was no good, she was stuck fast. The crew had no choice, they brought the train back to the bottom of the hill, then while the fireman went up the hill with sand, the Driver went to see what happened.

"Why is Agnes' brakes on?" he asked.

"She applied her own brakes because a passenger opened one of her windows," he answered. Jasmine's Driver looked shocked, "we should've warned you, Agnes is a very temper mental coach and will act up if everything is not going correctly to her standards."

"Oh that's just terrific," groaned the Driver, "with her brakes on, we'll be struggling all the way up the hill if she doesn't release them."

Both Driver and guard tried hard, but Agnes refused to release the brakes. The passengers were getting worried, they were far behind schedule and if they didn't return to the station soon, they would miss their train home. Agnes didn't care, she remained stoney faced and stubborn.

"What we need is another engine to help us up the hill," said the fireman, "they can push while we pull."

"Perhaps, but which one can help us?" asked the Driver.

The answer soon came as Sir Handel puffed into view with Millicent and Gertrude behind him, "hello? What's going on?" he asked. The guard explained everything to him and his crew, "should've guessed, that silly Agnes is always having a temper tantrum."

"We need to get back to the station as soon as possible, or else these passengers will never get home," Jasmine called, "can you give us a push?"

"Does a steam engine blow off smoke out of the funnel?" he called, "of course I'll help."

Sir Handel gently buffered up behind the train and was coupled up. The other coaches, apart from Agnes, all promised to help. Then off they went, twin collums of steam shooting high into the air and with wheels slipping on occassion. But despite the heavy rains and Agnes' brakes still being on, they managed to get the train over the hill and down the other side with ease.

"We did it! We did it!" cheered the two engines cheerfully.

The passengers and other coaches cheered and told them that they had done a wonderful job. Agnes remained silent.

Thanks to Sir Handel's help, Jasmine managed to return to the station just as Edward arrived with the coaches. The Thin Controller was also on the platform, he was quite surprised by what he saw. The passengers all came out of the carriages and told him everything, "I apologize for what happened, this doesn't happen that often."

"It's okay," they said, "we still enjoyed our day out today and we admired the hard efforts of your two blue engines."

And although it was still raining, the visitors took pictures of both Jasmine and Sir Handel, but not of Agnes. Then after thanking the engines and their crews, they left to board Edward's train.

The Thin Controller spoke sternly to Agnes, "I cannot accept this kind of behavior on my railway," he said, "if you ever do this again, I will leave you out in the rain for the rest of the season."

Agnes gasped at this and promised to behave, "it won't happen again," she concluded.

"I hope not," the Thin Controller said crossly. Then he spoke to the two engines, just as North Western Star arrived with the express, "well in spite of everything that happened, you two did quite well in bringing the passengers home. I'm very proud of both of you. Sir Handel, you certainly have come a long way from the engine who used to mistreat newcomers and would bump the coaches, I hope you continue to make an effort like this for now on."

"Oh I will sir," he smiled.

"Good to hear and Jasmine," he said, turning to the new engine, "in spite of your first two accidents, you have proven yourself beyond my expections with your determination to get the job done while giving your train a smooth ride. You are the kind of engine this railway needs, I'm proud of you too."

"Oh thank you sir."

"Now, please take the coaches back to the sheds and get some rest, I will see you two again later on."

"Yes sir," the two engines said in chrous and once the passengers were off Sir Handel's train, they set off to the sheds.

"Yes, an engine like Jasmine is perfect for our railway," the Thin Controller thought to himself, but what he was thinking of, I cannot say. You'll have to wait to find out what he's got planned.


	90. Daisy the Steaming Rail Car

_**Daisy the Steaming Rail-Car**_

"A Steam Rail-car?" exclaimed Daisy, "there's no such thing. Where did you hear such nonsense Thomas?"

"It's not nonsense, it's real," he said. Thomas was telling the other branch line engines all about something his Driver had told him earlier that day. "According to my Driver, on a railway far off from our shores, there is a real steam rail car that is still being used to this day. It's quite a famous attraction and people come from all over the world just to see it or ride on it."

"Who would've thought," remarked Percy, "a steam rail-car, I always thought they had began in the diesel era."

"Well designs of certain engines have to begin somewhere Percy," said Toby, "so maybe the diesel rail-cars were inspired by the steam rail-cars of long ago."

"There's a good chance that they were," said Rosie.

Daisy was not listening in to the entire conversation as she did not believe what Thomas was talking about. However, she soon had a reason to listen to the conversation after Emily piped up, "I bet you though that the steam rail-car is more reliable than a certain diesel-car I could mention," she eyed Daisy with a raised eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon?!" exclaimed Daisy, "I am a reliable and useful diesel rail-car. I take passengers when there are too many to ride in any of your coaches and I often take goods trains too."

"True, but you don't do those jobs well," Emily teased, "like that time you confronted a bull and Toby had to go 'shoo' it away for you, or how about the time you took the troublesome trucks and broke down before the harbour or how about..."

"That's enough!" snapped Daisy, "I might have my faults, but I'm still more reliable than you'll ever know."

Daisy was cross, she hated to be reminded of her past incidents. She backed into the sheds without another word, "good thing she went into the shed when she did, I was running out of incidents to remind her about," Emily chuckled.

"Oh Emily," groaned Toby and Percy in unison and rolled their eyes.

By the next morning, she was still grumbling, but was eager to get out of the shed, "just you wait Emily, I'll show you that I'm just as reliable as that steam rail-car, if there is one."

But because she was busy talking to Emily, she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and instead of going forwards, she charged backwards and straight into the back wall of the shed. She wasn't hurt and neither was her Driver, but Daisy felt foolish.

"Oh yes you've shown me up," smirked Emily.

Daisy grumbled crossly out of the sheds and out towards the junction.

"Sometimes you go a little too far with your teasing Emily," Rosie said firmly, "Daisy is a useful rail-car."

"Oh I know that Rosie," Emily whispered, "Daisy's actually proven that on multiple occassions, I just make sure Daisy never hears me say that, cause she would never let us hear the end of it."

Just then, her Driver opened the regulator and she puffed out of the sheds and over to the carriage shed.

Daisy in the meanwhile had arrived at the junction where she found the empty milk tankers, "there's still some time before the stopping passenger train arrives," said Daisy's Driver, "so we might as well collect the milk tankers."

The signalman changed the points and Daisy backed up to the tankers, a little too quickly. She bashed into the trucks and knocked one of them off the rails.

"Stop that Daisy!" snapped her driver, "I know you don't like being reminded of those incidents, but that's no excuse to take your anger out on anything that stands in front of, or should I say, in the back of you?"

"I know sir, I'm sorry," Daisy apologized and took the time to calm down.

Luckily, the tanker wasn't damaged and only the back wheels were off the rails, so it was easy to re-rail and take out of the siding with the other milk tankers.

"Now behave yourself Daisy or you will get into trouble," advised her Driver.

Little did they know that they would soon get into trouble.

James soon arrived with the stopping passenger train and once the passengers had boarded Daisy, she rumbled off towards the station near the dairy. As she rattled along, one of the passengers noticed that her engine was making some strange sounds, "excuse me Mr. Driver!"

"Yes? What can I do for you?" he asked kindly.

"I think there's something wrong with your engine," she said, "I can hear some strange sounds coming from her engine."

"Really?" asked the Driver. The passenger nodded in answer to his question. The Driver went silent and listened carefully for the sound, "hmm, that doesn't sound good. I'll take a look at the engine when we get to the next station."

But they never made it. The sound grew louder and louder until there came the sound of a muffled explosion.

"What?" Daisy cried. Suddenly, she came to a sudden stop. The tankers bumped into her buffers, which made some passengers fall forwards and make the guard fall to the floor.

"Ow," groaned the Driver, who had hit the window of Daisy's cab. He got up from his seat and went back to check on the passengers, "is everyone alright?"

"I think so," they all said, "but what happened?"

The Driver and guard weren't sure, so they climbed out to find the problem - it wasn't that hard to find. Daisy's engine had broken down and now it was smoking badly.

"Cor blimey, that's bad," gasped the guard. The driver opened a hatch and got a face full of dirty smelly smoke.

"No kidding," he coughed, "it's broken down. Most likely it was damaged thanks to the bumping Daisy gave to the back of the shed and those tankers earlier. One thing's for sure, Daisy's not going anywhere for a while, we'll have to get help."

"Ohh," Daisy groaned and went a sickly green.

The guard phoned down the line and soon, Thomas came down the branch line, light engine, "hello Daisy, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" he asked. Daisy said nothing, "ah well, these things happen from time to time. I better get you to the next station I suppose."

Thomas gently buffered up to Daisy, then, while she was still blowing off nasty black smoke, he pulled her and the tankers all the way to the next station. Once there, Daisy was shunted out of the way while Thomas shunted the tankers into the dairy siding.

"Good bye Daisy, I got to go, but someone should be coming along soon to help you home!" Thomas called.

Daisy still said nothing, she felt too sick to do so, "I hope nobody else finds out about this," she thought to herself.

Luck wasn't on her side though as Emily came into view with her coaches, Alison, Madison and Cassandra. When she saw Daisy blowing off smoke, she couldn't help but laugh, "am I seeing things, or has our branch line just gotten it's own Steam Rail-Car?"

Finally, the smoke stopped blowing, "oh never mind, it's just Daisy," Emily giggled, "are you thinking of becoming a steam engine. You're quite senisble, just have your engine removed and get a boiler."

"Oh...shut...up," Daisy coughed crossly.

Emily just laughed and departed once the passengers had boarded her coaches.

It took a while, but help soon came in the form of Rosie the American Tank engine. She gently buffered up to Daisy, then she towed the broken down diesel rail-car to the junction, "don't worry Daisy, the Dieselworks crew will have you fixed up in no time."

And she was right, Benjamin and some of the Dieselworks crew members worked hard on Daisy's engine until it ran as good as new again, "there you are Daisy," Benjamin said kindly, "now you can go back and do your jobs again."

"Just don't go blowing your engine out again," Norman called cheekily from a siding.

Sidney eyed him firmly and told him to stop. Daisy said nothing and rattled off back to the junction. The Fat Controller had, of course, heard about Daisy's accidents. He was cross with her, but he let her off with a warning and she promised to keep her temper in control.

However, for a long time afterwords, some of the other engines, like Emily, would see her and say, "oh look, there's Daisy the Steaming Rail-Car and I thought she didn't believe they were real." They laugh over their own jokes, but Daisy thinks they're just being very silly engines indeed.


	91. Vern and the Bull

_**Vern and the Bull**_

One warm afternoon, Lily arrived at the chute on the Little Western to collect a load of ballast. The trucks tried playing their tricks on her, but she was able to keep them in check and stop them safely under the chute.

Lily whistled to let the Small Railway engines know that she was there. There came another whistle, but it wasn't like any of the whistles she had ever heard before.

A load of ballast trucks were pushed to the top of the chute, then the engine puffed up towards Lily and stopped right next to the first truck. This engine had four front wheels, six driving wheels and four back wheels. It also had a bell, a couple of domes and had a silver boiler jacket, it looked very smart.

The small engine looked up and smiled, "Hello there," she said cheerfully, "You must be Lily."

"Yes, I am Lily, but how did you know my name?"

"Well that's easy, there's only one female Great Western engine in these parts. Plus the other engines all told me about you. Very daring I must say, running away to prevent yourself from being scrapped."

"Maybe daring, but it was scary."

"I can imagine it would be...oh and my name is Vern by the way."

"Well it's nice to meet you Vern. I don't recall seeing you before, when did you arrive?"

"I arrived a few days ago on a flatbed pulled by No 10-Douglas," Vern answered. "But I only just began work yesterday, due to the fact I needed some inspections before going to work."

"Well I guess it's because the Small Controller doesn't want anything to happen to you," Lily said kindly.

"Indeed," agreed Vern.

"So, where did you come from?" Lily asked, just as the ballast began to fall into her trucks.

"I came from a small railway from Ontario Canada."

"Canada? Is it far?"

Vern chuckled, "oh yes, it is far away, it's across many oceans and it's almost on the other side of the world."

"That far huh? Well I hope you're not getting home sick for not being there."

"You can rest easy knowing that I'm not getting home sick. Sure I miss my old home, but I'm okay - although I wouldn't ask my Driver," She paused with a chuckle, "she didn't feel too good after our boat trip."

"My fireman's the same way," said Lily, "he can't go on boats cause then he feels awful for days. So, how are you liking your new home?"

"Oh it's nice, although I do notice that Mike and Rex argue a bit, Jock the new engine boasts just a little too much and Frank, he's got a bit of an attitude and doesn't like it when you tell him something he's never known before."

"What about Bert?"

"Oh he's a kind engine, but he's gone for an overhaul. The Small Controller says this should help him greatly, especially since he has been having steaming problems. We all miss him. I'm hoping he comes home soon so I can hear some of his adventures from before."

"Haven't you had any adventures yet?"

Vern paused and looked thoughtful. Meanwhile, the trucks were still getting filled up. Lily had to move them in order to fill all of them up.

"Well I will admit that I did have an adventure. I remember it like it was yesterday - oh wait, it was yesterday," Vern chuckled and began to tell her story.

At the Jinkins farm, the farmer had a prize bull. The bull helps out with many of the jobs around the farm. It's normally on it's best behavior, but there are times when the Jinkin's two sons tease the bull and make him cross. Their mother and father have often warned them not to tease the bull, but they would take no notice of them.

"I always thought bulls were firece, but this silly animal is nothing more than a big kitty cat," said one of the boys.

"Yeah, it would never dare hurt us," chuckled the other boy.

How wrong those boys were going to be. One evening, they snuck out of the house and went over to the bull pan. They smirked when they saw the bull.

It was sleeping peacefully on top of some hay, but it wouldn't be for long.

"Hey you big dumb animal, why don't you act tough for once?" they shouted at the bull. Then they pulled some faces and did all sorts of tricks. The bull noticed them and snorted at them.

"Oh we're sorry, are we making you cross?" the boys chuckled and continued.

At that moment, their father stepped out of the house. He could see everything, "boys stop that before..."

Suddenly, there came some screams and a crash as the bull smashed threw the gates and started chasing the boys. They ran round the farm several times until they jumped into a bail of hay. The bull looked around, snorted crossly, then it ran away.

"Do you think it's gone?" one of the boys asked.

"I think so," answered the other boy. "Now let's get out of here before Dad catches us and he changes our names to mud."

Their father didn't have time to deal with the boys, he had a bull to catch. He raced into the cornfield and tried to chase the bull, but couldn't catch up to the bull. The bull however, nearly caught up with the farmer and he often had to jump out of the way.

"Bother those boys, just wait till I see them, I'll make them work this off."

On the other side of the cornfield, Vern was puffing along on the Small Railway with some supplies for the last station of the line. She had a good head of steam and was making good timing when she suddenly heard some rustling in the cornfield.

"Did you hear that?" she asked her Driver.

"Yeah I heard it," she answered, "but what could be making that noise."

They soon found out as the bull emerged from the field and stopped on the tracks. Upon seeing this, Vern's Driver applied the brakes and brought the train to a smooth stop.

"Oh my Gosh," gasped the Driver, "that thing must be over 300 pounds, it'll turn you into scrap faster than you can say 'Small Controller'."

"I don't know," Vern said as she watched the animal. It was looking around, but didn't look angry. "I think it's just lost."

"Could be, but where could it have come from?"

"Maybe it's from the Jinkins farm - I have an idea," Vern's Driver listened in, "I remember the workmen had loaded some oats into one of the trucks, why don't you take some, put it in a bucket and bring it up to the bull."

"Bring it up to the bull?" exclaimed the Driver.

"Then you can take the bull back to the farm," Vern continued.

"Oh okay, I get it now."

The Driver got out of the cab slowly and carefully with a bucket in her hand. She had brought it along with her, mostly because she still wasn't feeling that well. She went to one of the trucks, poured some oats into it and walked slowly towards the bull.

"Shake the bucket, let him hear it," Vern advised. The Driver shook the bucket, making the oats bounce up and down. The bull heard and started to walk up to the Driver. "Let him have it."

"Oh don't worry Vern, I plan on letting him have it."

The Bull continued to walk up to the Driver, then it started eating the oats.

"Good boy," the Driver said kindly.

At that moment, the farmer arrived with a rope. He wrapped it around the bull's forehead and patted it on the side. The bull was now calm and had a full stomach.

"Alright boy, let's get you back to the farm," Said the farmer.

Vern's Driver alerted Control, using the radio and told them that Vern was going to be blocking the line for a bit while she took the bull back to the farm. Thankfully, there was no more trouble as they got back to the farm.

They found the farmer's wife waiting there. She had fixed the gate and caught the two boys.

The Farmer and Vern's Driver brought the bull back to the pan and closed the gate, "good job miss," said the farmer, "and that's no bull."

"Funny," chuckled the Driver, then she looked down. "Although I think your bull has given me a little gift."

The farmer and his wife chuckled, then they scolded the boys, telling them that they had been bad boys, "Sorry Mum and dad," they said in unison, "we didn't mean any harm."

"Well if that new Small Railway engine and her Driver didn't calm our Bull down, there'd be a lot more damage than a broken fence," their father said firmly. "We told you not to tease the bull and yet you did. I think a punishment is the only way to teach you two a lesson."

"And what was that punishment?" Lily asked.

Vern paused and chuckled, "They're spending the entire day cleaning up after the animals, especially the bull they had been teasing. I'll say this much, those two will learn a serious lesson after this and that's no bull - except on their boots," she chuckled.

Lily chuckled too and at that moment, the guard's whistle blew. She whistled to Vern and then puffed away with the loaded ballast trucks.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by a real life event where some foolish kids had gone to a bull pan and set it loose on a corn-maze. Two animal relocation specialists went to deal with it and nearly got hurt by the bull's horns. Thankfully though, using a bucket of grain and a rope, they were able to calm the bull down and bring it back to it's trailer with no trouble or injuries to anyone.


	92. The Engine That Cried Wolf

_**The Engine That Cried Wolf**_

"There were many of us on my old railway. There were Bullet Nosed 6060 class engines, Royal Hudsons, regular Hudson like myself and we also had an SD40 diesel engine."

Vern was telling the Small Railway engines, including the new arrivals, Blister I and Blister II, all about her original railway.

"Our miniature railway wasn't as long as this one, but it was still beautiful. There were plenty of trees, an open valley view at one part of the line and there was a small roadway leading to our enterance - that was our favourite spot, cause then we knew we would be busy," Vern said with a quiet chuckle.

"Well if your line was so great, why were you brought here?" asked Jock.

"Bad mouth your Controller?" Blister I asked rudely.

"Shh!" hushed the other engines in unison.

Blister I always spoke his mind and sometimes, he didn't know he had gone too far until he was hushed or stared at. In this case, it was both, so Blister I quickly subsided into silence.

"No, that wasn't the reason I came here," sighed Vern. "No, it was because our railway was closed down. People just didn't seem to have an interest in us anymore. All engines and rolling stock were sold off, some sadly were scrapped, but I was lucky because of the Small Controller. Had it not been for him, I would be sitting on the scrap heap being prepared for scrap."

"Do you miss your old home?" asked Blister II, who was kinder than his twin.

"Yes I do, I miss it very much, but I'm happy to be useful and to still be working."

All the engines murmured in agreement, even Blister I.

Every evening, on the last train of the day, the engines and their crews wait patiently at all the stations until every employee have gotten into their coaches. This was done to help the employees who didn't own a vehicle, to get home faster than it would if they walked.

On this evening, Rex was bringing down the last train. He was waiting at the last station of the line for the Stationmaster to come out. At last, he came out with several books. As he walked to the train, he heard some growling from close by.

"What was that?" he asked.

"You coming sir?" asked Rex's Driver.

"Yeah I'm coming," the Stationmaster called back. He then climbed into one of the coaches and sat down. The Driver opened the regulator and Rex started away. He was hardly out of the station when he too heard the growling sound.

Rex wondered what the growling sound was, but after a while, he asked his Driver of what it could be.

"It's probably just a dog," he said. "I don't know anything else that could make a growling sound - well, at least not anything that could live around here."

"Do you think it could be one of those animals on the loose?"

"Could be, it can happen. Remember what happened with that bull from the farm?"

Rex did remember and shuddered just thinking about it.

Later that night, Rex told the other engines about the growling sound. The others all looked concerned, well - except for Blister I.

"You're a silly engine Rex, being scared of some silly animal."

"I am not silly," he protested angerily.

"You are so, animals are tiny little things that could never hurt us," he boasted.

"Oh yeah? What about the bull that Vern had to deal with?"

Blister I didn't answer, mostly because he wasn't paying any attention to Rex. "If any animal ever across my path, I would just honk my horn and shout at it to get it out of my way. It's just that simple."

The other engines were not convinced.

"You can try, but it'll never work," Mike said in a teasing way.

"Oh but it will, just you wait and see."

The main jobs Blister I and Blister II do on the railway is track maintenance work. They are always coupled on each end of a small train of trucks and one coach, then they go along the line making sure everything is safe and smooth for the other engines and their trains.

The next afternoon, the Blister Twins were at the last station with the workmen, checking the lines and the turntable. Blister I was still thinking about the previous night's conversation.

"I'll show them, I'll show them," he thought to himself.

The workmen were just about done when one of them heard a growling noise. "What was that?" There then came some rustling from the bushes and moments later, a grey dog-like creature came walking out onto the platform, growling, snarling and even barking loudly.

"It's a wolf!" cried the stationmaster. "Everyone back off and don't look it in the eyes!"

Everyone did as they were told. Except for Blister I, for his chance had finally come.

"Oi! You stupid animal, get out of here!" he shouted and honked his horn.

"What are you doing?" cried Blister II.

"I'm going to scare this silly animal away!" Blister I called back. He continued honking his horn and shouting, but it didn't work out quite as he had hoped. The wolf stood it's ground and snarled it's teeth at Blister I.

"Uh...go away! Please?" Blister I asked nervously.

The wolf barked at Blister I, not moving an inch. Now the little black diesel engine was scared, "uh, can we back up please?"

"So much for being a brave engine," said the Driver and waved to Blister II's Driver.

The two diesels moved away and the wolf headed for the station. At that moment, Vern arrived with the passenger train. The Stationmaster flagged her down and she stopped before the platform.

"There's a timber Wolf on the platform," he said. "It was looking angry earlier and I think Blister I has made things worse."

"A Timber wolf?" asked the Driver. "No problem, I can handle it. I need a cage and a big board."

"Uh...okay," the Stationmaster said unsurely.

"Don't worry sir," said Vern. "My Driver knows what she is doing. She used to work for an animal relocation group."

Upon hearing that, the Stationmaster went to the Station and returned with the items the Driver asked for. "Good thing I have a cage for those strays that come by our station from time to time."

He gave the board to the Driver and after getting her sandwich from the cab, she walked up to the wolf, "alright big boy, back up a bit." The wolf snarled and tried to bite the Driver, but the board saved her.

"Get that cage ready!" the Driver called, "we're coming your way!"

She took pieces off her sandwich and tossed them. The wolf went for the pieces and each time, the Driver backed up, tossing more pieces of her sandwich.

At last, they were getting close to the cage. The stationmaster opened the cage door, then the Driver tossed another piece of the sandwich, this time, it went into the cage.

The wolf went into the cage. "Now!" cried the Driver. The stationmaster closed the door quickly. The wolf snarled and tried to bite the cage, but it could not get out.

"Nice work Driver," sighed the Stationmaster.

"Thanks, but it's not the first time I've dealt with a timber wolf."

The passenger congratulated the Driver, all the while, Blister I was looking away in embarrassment.

"I don't think I'm ever going to hear the end of this," he thought to himself.

And he was right. That night, Rex, Mike and Jock all talked about an engine who cried over a wolf. The others chuckled over it, but Blister I didn't. He wished now that he hadn't been so boastful.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired on a real life event where two animal relocation specialists were called to deal with a timber wolf in a family's backyard. How it got there is unknown, but they were able to capture it by putting it in a cage and it was later released back into the wild.


	93. Don't Cry Over Spilled Oil

_**Don't Cry Over Spilled Oil**_

The following next morning, Vern was sitting close to the sheds while getting refueled. Unlike the other engines; Mike, Rex, Jock and Bert, who was being given a complete overhaul, Vern runs on oil instead of coal.

"Almost done here girl," said her Driver.

"That's alright, take as much time as you need. After all, it's better to be safe than..." CRASH! "What in the Maple Leaf was that?"

Mike and Frank were wondering the same thing. All three engines looked to the source of the crashing sound and found it was coming from Belle. Earlier that morning, Donald woke up feeling ill, so he was taken away to the Steamworks and Belle was asked to do his jobs till he came back to work.

"I shouldn't be shunting trucks," she grumbled. "I should be at the Search and Rescue Centre, waiting for a call to action."

"Quit your whining girl," said her Driver, "this is still work and it's better than sitting next to the centre doing nothing."

"Which is what you're probably used to do," snickered Mike.

"What?!" exclaimed Belle and shot forward with her ballast trucks. Her Driver luckily applied the brakes before they went smashing into the buffers. "What was that you said about me?" she asked crossly.

"Well think about the most recent events that involved fire..."

"Mike," Vern muttered threw her teeth, "don't go there."

"James' fire train for example," Mike began, not hearing Vern's muttering words, "you stayed at the centre while Flynn dealt with it and what about Thomas' fire at the Dieselworks? Last I checked, it was Flynn who put that fire out."

That wasn't true as Flynn had run out of water and needed help from the diesel's drivers, but Mike wasn't going to say that.

"If you ask me, Flynn is the best fire fighter and you, well...I think you should become a shunting engine instead of being a fire fighter. At least you wouldn't be sitting around like a lazy engine."

"And you're going there," groaned Vern.

Belle blew off steam crossly, "Flynn's not that great, he's just a bossy show-off. I am the better fire-fighter and one of these days, I will prove that to you."

"Sure you will," snickered Mike.

Belle huffed and puffed away once her trucks were loaded up.

"And you went there," sighed Vern. By now, her tender was full of oil and she puffed away, not too impressed with Mike's behaviour.

A little later, Sigrid of Arlesdale, the railway's passenger diesel, was being refueled inside the sheds, "it's a good thing we decided to fill your tanks now Sigrid," said her Driver, "otherwise we could've ended stranded on the main line and that would not please the Small Controller."

Sigrid agreed, it was something she did not like.

Her Driver was just about finished when Sigrid noticed a small furry animal with a stripy tail walking into the sheds.

"Hey you!" she cried, "You're not suppose to be in here!"

Her Driver was startled by the shouting that he accidently dropped the oil can onto the ground. He then noticed the creature, he ran up and shooed it away.

"Oh dear, I am so sorry," Sigrid said when she saw the oil on her Driver's new shoes, "I didn't mean to scare you and ruin your new shows."

"Ah don't worry about it girl, these shoes were going to get dirty at some point." He then walked to the spilled oil can, picked it up and cleaned as much of the oil he could. "That should do it, at least no one will get injuried over this."

He climbed into the cab and with a roar of the engine, Sigrid rolled out of the sheds.

No sooner was she gone than another workman came into the sheds, but he wasn't there to do any work. No, he was there to have a smoke without anyone knowing.

"I should be OK in here," he thought to himself.

He started to smoke when the Raccoon that Sigrid and her Driver tried to scare away before, came back into the sheds. She was merely looking for food. When the workman noticed her, he jumped in surprise and dropped his smoke...right into the small puddle of oil. It caught fire in an instant and started to spread.

Upon seeing the flames, the workman and the Raccoon dashed out of the shed.

"Oh no, now I'm in real deep trouble," he groaned to himself.

After she was done with her work on the Little Western, Belle returned back to the Search and Rescue Centre. As she arrived, she heard the sirens going off, "I wonder what this could be about," thought Belle.

Moments later, a man came running out, "the Small Railway's engine shed is on fire. Where's Flynn? He needs to know."

"Flynn's out on another job," answered Butch.

Belle smirked, "this is perfect, I can deal with that fire alone and I'll show that red engine of what I can do."

"Don't worry sir," she called to the workman, "We'll go deal with that fire. After all, I am a fire fighting engine."

"Well that's true, but..." What he said next was drowned out by the sounds of Belle steaming up and puffing away.

"Now I'll show him, now I'll show him," she thought proudly to herself.

"But it's an oil fire, you'll never be able to put it out!" shouted the workman.

But Belle didn't hear him and was soon out of sight. The workman groaned and was just wondering what to do next when Flynn pulled up. His bright red paintwork was now dirty after dealing with an out of control fire in a farmer's field.

"Ah Flynn, just the fire engine I wanted to see."

"Why? What's going on?" he asked.

The workman told Flynn and his Driver about the fire at the Small Railway.

"Oh dear, that is a problem," said Flynn. "The Little Western is a long way's off from here, Belle won't have enough water."

"That's the least of our problems," said the workman, "That is an oil fire at the sheds, she'll never be able to put it out with water."

"Right cause oil and water don't mix," said Flynn's Driver.

"In that case, you better reserve me into the siding and get that special tank coupled up," Flynn said to his Driver.

The Driver didn't need telling twice, he quickly got out to change the points, then he reversed Flynn into the siding. "Hope we can get there in time," the Driver thought to himself.

At the sheds, Mike, Jock, Sigrid, Vern and Oliver were watching in horror as the fires continued to build. Sigrid's Driver apologized for the spilled oil, but the Small Controller wasn't mad at him, he was mad at the other workman.

"You know we have a no-smoking rule and yet you still sneak around to smoke," he said firmly.

"Sorry sir," groaned the workman.

Just then, they heard a loud bell ringing and the sounds of pistons pumping.

"We will continue this discussion later," The Small Controller said firmly.

Belle puffed up, much to Mike's surprise, "now I'll show you how good of a fire-fighter I am," she boasted. Her cannons were aimed at the sheds and a tap was turned.

"No don't!" cried Vern, "That's an oil fire, you'll never..."

What she said next was drowned out as the water whoosed out of the cannons. They hit the fire, but it didn't go out. It instead started to grow in size. Then trouble came, water stopped coming out of the cannons.

"What happened?" Belle cried.

"You used up all your water girl," said her Driver, "you can't fight fires or puff away."

Belle groaned, but Mike laughed, "oh she sure showed me," he chuckled.

"Now is not the time to laugh Mike," Vern said firmly, "our shed is burning down." She then remembered, "Driver, don't you have a fire extinguisher for these kinds of fires?"

"Yes we do," her Driver nodded, "good remembering girl."

She ran to the cab, pulled out the fire extinguisher and fired what was in it at the oil fire. The fire was intense, but thanks to the Driver, she was able to keep the fire under control. Others joined in, but despite their efforts, the fire still grew.

Hope seemed lost, that was until they heard the roaring of an engine and the sound of a wailing siren.

"It's Flynn," smiled the Small Controller. He then turned to Oliver, "get Belle out of the way and make way for him."

"Yes sir," said Oliver.

He coupled up to Belle and pulled her out of the way. She didn't help, she just sulked. By the time she had been moved out of the way, Flynn arrived, "stand back everyone, we got this!" he shouted.

The firemen climbed out, the cannons were aimed, hoses were brought out and the special fire fighting foam was shot at the fire. It took a long time and alot of effort, but soon the fire was put out.

The Small Controller inspected the sheds, "Well, it needs some work, but thankfully there's not alot of damage done, as surprising as it might sound. Well done everyone, especially you Vern, that was quick thinking on your part."

Flynn and his crew were quick to agree. The red fire engine then looked back over to Belle, "I'll tow you back to the Search and Rescue Centre and while we're on our way, we're going to have a little chat about learning some patience."

"Oh for crying out loud," Belle groaned.

She wasn't the only one getting a firm talking to, the Small Controller spoke with the workman responsible for the fire. He gave him a firm warning and left the workman with no doubt that smoking is a bad thing.


	94. Jock's Helper

_**Jock's Helper**_

Jock is a new built engine that was built for the Small Railway. He was built using the same plans used for Bert, but with some changes. He's also painted in a dark mustard yellow paint. The paint reminded Douglas of the Scottish 'Jock' engines and thanks to him, the Small Controller agreed to name the small engine 'Jock'.

Jock is strong than the other engines and sometimes, this goes straight to his funnel.

"No matter what the job is, I can pull it without straining," he boasted. "This railway would be falling behind if it wasn't for me."

"It's not always about you," Rex retorted, "We all work hard to keep the trains going."

Vern agreed, "on my old railway, we engines work together as a team and when one of us needed help, we were never afraid to ask for it or give them that help."

"Your old line was different Vern, it was just a line for visitors, it's not like our line at all. Here, we look out for only engine and that is each other and we don't ask for help - unless of course, they're not as strong as certain engines I could mention."

The other small engines glared at him, but Vern only muttered, "we'll see Jock, we'll see."

The next morning was the last day of a holiday weekend. The Little Western's coaches were full of visitors and, once they had boarded the train, so were the Small Railway's coaches. They were so full that the Small Controller asked Jock to collect a few more coaches.

"Sigrid will follow later with the rest," he said.

"Not a problem sir," Jock smiled proudly.

But Jock's Driver did worry. Along at each station and points in between were passing loops, these were long enough to handle regular passenger trains and ballast trains, but not Jock's train. It would be too long to wait, so they would have to go threw everytime.

"I sure hope we can," he thought to himself.

It wasn't long before Jock had the extra coaches. The people got in, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, then Jock pulled the long passenger train out of the station.

"Just look Mike and Frank," he shouted when he passed them, "now I'll show you of what I can do."

He put on a little more puff and stormed out of sight.

"Boastful show off," they grumbled.

They made good timing along the line and soon reached the last station and to the Driver's relief, they had been given the right of way everytime. The last station was the place where Jock could be turned around and placed on the other end of the train. But when he puffed up to the front, he found his line blocked by the coaches.

"Bother," groaned the Driver, "now we'll have to call for one of the Blisters to come hlp."

"We don't need to do that," boasted Jock. He then told his plan to the Driver and the guard.

"Out of the question!" said the Driver, "it is too dangerous."

"Not if we do it right, then we'll be able to make it to the terminus on time."

The guard agreed to try and after some arguing, so did the Driver. The guard then went into the office to get a long piece of wood. He then placed it behind Jock's tender and the back of a coach, "alright, push slowly now!"

Jock reversed slowly and pushed the train till the points were clear.

"See? I knew it would work," Jock smiled. "I really should thank Oliver when I next see him."

The stationmaster had seen all. He just shook his head and went to his office.

The passengers soon reboarded the train and Jock puffed quickly away. He pounded the rails as he puffed along, "hurry, hurry, hurry!" he puffed, pretending to be like Gordon.

"Steady boy, steady!" cried his Driver, but Jock took no notice.

"Not every engine needs help," Jock thought happily to himself. "This will be one in the old headlamp for Vern."

As he rounded a bend, there came a clatter from under Jock's cab.

"What was that?" he cried.

Then he noticed that his speed was going down. He struggled on as best as he could, but it wasn't enough. He soon came to a stop, just short of 'The Green' station where Rex once derailed.

"Why did we stop?"

"I'm not sure," said the Driver. He climbed out and checked Jock all over. He soon found the problem, "your firebars have melted and you lost a good portion of your fire."

"Oh no," groaned Jock.

The Driver scratched his head, "I've never known this to happen before."

"It happened once before on the Great Western," said the guard, "When their famous Pendennis Castle melted his firebars during one of his last runs."

The passengers were beginning to worry.

"We're going to miss our train," they complained.

"Not to worry ladies and gentlemen," said the Driver. "I'm going to phone Control for help and we should be away within minutes."

"No don't," Jock retorted, "I don't need help, I can manage if you..."

"You have no firebars Jock, I can't give you a fire," his Driver said firmly. "We have no choice, I'm calling for help."

"Ohh," Jock groaned. He could only imagine what the others would say when they found out.

In the yards, Vern was loading ballast trucks on top of the chute, she had just finished when the Small Controller arrived.

"Leave those trucks Vern!" he called. "Jock has melted his firebars and is stranded beyond 'The Green'."

"Say no more sir," Vern called, "we're on our way."

She quickly rolled down the chute and raced off to get turned around and go to the rescue.

Jock was still sulking right where he stood, he wasn't looking forward to being rescued. All too soon, he heard a whistle and there was Vern, backing tender first.

"Don't mutter a word," Jock growled.

Very wisely, Vern said nothing at all. She was quickly coupled up and set off as quickly as she could.

"How wonderful," said one of the passengers, "we're being rescued by a Hudson."

"A miniature version of the Canadian Pacific's hudsons," said another passenger, "how lucky are we?"

Jock didn't feel lucky at all. As they rattled along, they passed other engines. Many of them teased Jock and others just gave him looks. Now Jock wished he hadn't been so boastful.

The Small Controller was waiting for the train to arrive. He apologized for the delay, but the passengers didn't mind and told Vern just how useful she had been. They even took her photograph, but not Jock.

The Small Controller looked underneath Jock's cab.

"I'll ask the Fat Controller if Jock can go on the next train to the Steamworks," he said, "Vern can take over Jock's runs."

"But what about the ballast trains sir?" Vern asked.

"Mike and the Blisters can handle the work," he answered.

Jock left later that day on Duck's ballast train and the Small Railway engines worked their hardest to keep up with the workloads. They did well, but they did miss Jock.

A few days later, he returned to the Small Railway. Vern had spoken with everyone and told them not to tease him.

"How do you feel now?" she asked kindly.

"Well I've been better," he answered sadly. "I have some new firebars, but I feel silly. I now know that you were right Vern, even new engines like me need help sometimes."

"That's good to hear."

"And now I promise to never be too proud to ask for help."

Of course, Jock did get a scolding, mostly thanks to his dangerous shunting at the last station. The Small Controller told him of what could've gone wrong.

The engines at first didn't believe Jock's promise, but they soon learned that he was serious as he always asked for help when he needed it, and thanks to Vern's help and good advice, he has become a safer and wiser engine.

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by two real life events. The first occured on the NYC in the early 1900's when a steam engine pushed a brake van on another line using a long piece of wood, thankfully the plan worked with no injuries or any problems. The second occured during one of Pendennis Castle's final runs when it's firebars melted.


	95. The Great Valley Flood

_**The Great Valley Flood**_

It was a hot sticky day and Percy the Small Engine was puffing along down the branch line with a train of trucks. As he puffed along, he passed threw the area where he once got stuck in a flood. He remembered how cold and wet he had gotten that day.

"I rather not go threw that again," he thought to himself.

He soon reached the harbour and spent the rest of the day shunting.

"Done and good timing too," said the Driver.

"Why do you say that?" Percy asked.

"Well Percy, I can tell that we're going to be getting a big storm tonight," as he said this, he was looking out to the ocean. "It could be a big and loud one by the look of those clouds."

He was right. By the time Percy had returned, a very big and loud storm was rolling in.

"Whew, that was close," sighed Percy.

Percy's fireman was about to put out the fire when he was stopped by Thomas' fireman. "What are you guys still doing here?" he asked. "I thought you would've gone home ages ago."

"We've been asked by the stationmaster to stay, just in case the valley gets flooded."

"You really think it's going to flood?" asked Percy's Driver.

"It could," said Toby, "especially in the place where Percy got stuck. The Stationmaster just wants us to be ready."

Percy gulped, he did not like the sound of that.

The valley in where Percy got stuck is quite low, so it's always prone to flooding. Efforts have been made to prevent anymore flooding and for a long time, it has worked. Tonight's storm though dropped more water than any other storm in the past, and this was going to prove to be a problem.

Emily was on her way home with her coaches, Alison and Madison. She puffed into the valley and gasped, "Flood!" she cried.

Her Driver looked and saw that the tracks were covered in water and it was rising. He opened the regulator and Emily dashed threw the water as quickly as she could and soon reached the other side.

She made it to the junction and then headed off for the sheds.

When she arrived, she was soaked from front to back. "Well that was close," she said. "The place where Percy got stuck is flooding again and the water is rising."

"Luckily we sped up and got of there," said her Driver.

"Alright, so is that everyone?" Rosie asked.

"No," Thomas answered. "Daisy is still out with the passengers. I hope she's nowhere near that area."

But Daisy was near that area. She had picked up a large amount of passengers and a few vans and was trying to get home. "Easy does it girl," advised her Driver.

"I'm trying," she groaned, "this weather is getting worse and I can't see."

With no good sight of what was ahead, Daisy and her Driver had no idea of the trouble ahead. By the time they had found out, it was too late. Daisy rolled into the water, which now was almost up to the bottom of her doors.

"Ohh!" Daisy groaned.

The Driver tried to make Daisy go forward, but soon had to stop.

"It's no good, your engine will get flooded." He then tried to reverse, but soon had to stop. Daisy and the passengers were now trapped. Daisy wanted to groan, but couldn't with her mouth under the water.

Luckily, Harold had seen her and dashed off to get help.

The engines and their crews were still waiting at the sheds and watching the storm threw Percy's open door.

"This is the biggest storm I've seen in a while," said Rosie.

A bright flash of lightning lit up the night sky, followed by a big boom of thunder, "and the loudest I've heard in a while," groaned Percy.

Just then, they heard a buzzing sound.

"That's got to be Harold," said Toby.

It was Harold. The doors were opened and they all saw Harold hovering above, "Daisy's trapped in flood waters in the valley," he called. "She tried to get threw, but to no avail."

"Poor engine," said Emily.

The stationmaster had heard everything, "Right, we got to get her out. Thomas, go collect some flatbeds and couple them in front. Rosie and Percy, you will follow and help if Thomas can't get her out. And Toby; take Annie, Clarabel, Henrietta and the workmen."

"Yes sir," the four engines said and headed out.

Emily was told to stay in case of any other emergencies.

Minutes later, the engines were heading down the line. Thomas had five flatbeds with barrels on them, Percy and Rosie were travelling light engine and Toby brought the coaches.

When they arrived, they found Daisy with water up to her nose. Thomas then realised why he was sent first, his firebox was higher up, so he had less of a chance of getting his fire put out.

Several workmen climbed onto the first flatbed, "Alright Thomas, push away slowly."

Thomas pushed slowly into the water, "hang on Daisy, we're coming!"

Flood waters consumed the flatbeds and slowly climbed up Thomas' wheels, but just as they were almost in the water, Thomas buffered up to Daisy. A workman coupled them up, "alright Thomas, pull her out!"

But with his wheels under the water, he couldn't get a good grip on the rails.

Thomas' Driver waved to Percy and Rosie. The two tank engines puffing forward and were coupled up to Thomas.

"Right you three, one, two...three!" shouted a workman.

Thomas, Percy and Rosie pulled as hard as they could. It wasn't easy at first, their wheels slipped and they almost rolled into the water. But they didn't give up.

"Come on! Come on!" puffed Percy.

"Pull harder! Pull harder!" cried Thomas.

"We can do it! We can do it!" shouted Rosie.

Slowly but surely, they pulled Daisy threw the water and closer to dry land.

"You got her! You got her!" cried Toby.

Finally, after much struggling, the tank engines had freed Daisy.

"Oh thank you everyone, I was worrying for all of our sakes."

"It's alright Daisy, you're in good hands now," smiled Thomas.

The passengers were given warm drinks and food, then they set off for home.

It was days before the flood waters disappeared and a week still before the line was reopened. Daisy was none the worst for her misadventure and was able to go back to work a few days after the flood began.

The Fat Controller came to thank the engines and their crews for a job well done, "Thanks to all of you, you got all the passengers home and saved Daisy too. This flood was an unexpected surprise, but despite it, you all did great. Well done all of you."

Daisy also thanked them and whispered to Percy, "now I know how you felt when you were trapped in flood waters. I certainly don't want to go threw that again."

After that day, more efforts were made to prevent future floodings. Although, it is uncertain if the valley will ever flood again. I guess time will tell, won't it?

**Author's Note:**

This story was inspired by the real life event where a GO Transit commuter train got trapped by flood waters. The train was stopped after five P.M. and the passengers had to be removed off the train by boat. The GO Train was removed from the flood the very next day. This event occured in Toronto Ontario Canada on July 8th 2013.


	96. Don't Drive There!

_**Don't Drive There!**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the character 'Maggie'**_

It was a beautiful day on Sodor, the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze about and there were few clouds in the sky. James was at the head of a stopping passenger train and he was enjoying every moment of it.

"I wish everyday could be like this," he thought to himself.

He saw North Western Star coming down the opposite line and gave him a friendly greeting. Star whistled back and shouted: "You're doing great today James!"

James smiled, but then he heard someone shout; "Don't drive there!"

"What?" James cried. Suddenly, he and his crew saw a red car coming into view on the road beside the railway. The car was going fast, then it turned and swirved into a ditch.

James' Driver applied the brakes and slowed James down till his front buffers were in line with the back of the car.

"Goodness me," gasped the fireman.

"Stay with James," the Driver said to the fireman, "I'm going to check on the people in the car."

He told the guard of what he was going to do, then he walked over to the car. He looked in, sighed and shook his head, "I had a feeling it would be you."

"Uh, hi dad," said a nervous Maggie.

Maggie had been taking driving lessons because her parents were worried she would crash with the way she used to drive. The lessons were working...well, sort of.

"Ms. Margaret," said the driving instructor, "I asked you not to drive here cause this road is not perfect for students."

"I'm sorry, I just paniced."

"That's alright, just remember to pay attention next time. Now get us out of here and we'll go back to the centre."

Maggie tried to to back them out, but it did no good. They were stuck fast.

"Don't worry, we'll get you two out," said James' Driver.

He went back to the cab and returned with one end of a chain. He attached it to the back end of the car while the fireman attached the other end to James.

"Okay James, pull slowly!" called the Driver.

The fireman opened the reverser and James puffed backwards slowly. In no time at all, the car was back on the road.

Before leaving, James' Driver spoke to Maggie, "Watch where you're going."

"I will," she said, sounding quite offended.

She drove away, slowly this time. "You don't need to be harsh with her," said James.

"Sometimes I have to be harsh James."

The Driver climbed back into the cab and James puffed away to make up for lost time. He managed it, but he couldn't stop thinking about Maggie.

That night in the sheds, he told the other engines about Maggie's little unexpected trip. Henry thought it was a great joke, "Well she never was a good driver and it seems like those lessons aren't helping. Maybe she should give up and stick to walking."

"Oh that's mature of you Henry," James said sarcastically. "Remind me to say something like that to Carl next time he comes here."

"Now now," Niki cut in, "Niki doesn't want to see you arguing again."

"Henry does have a point though," said Billy. "Lessons are suppose to make someone better, but that's not the case with Maggie."

"These things just take a little time," Star said wisely. "With some patience and a little more practice, I'm sure Maggie will become a good driver."

"Poh, that'll be the day," sniffed Henry, but was hushed by the other engines. James even said that if he ever said those things to Maggie, he would talk none stop about past embarrassing moments. That sure shut Henry up.

The next day was a cloudy one with a small chance of rain in the afternoon. Once again, Maggie had arrived at the driving centre to learn some more driving lessons. Before leaving, she turned on the headlights and the windshield wipers.

"So far so good," said the instructor.

"Just don't drive me into the ditch today," shouted the car.

Maggie ignored that remark and once the seatbelts were on, they pulled out onto the roads.

The instructor gave out plenty of instructions and Maggie followed almost all of them perfectly, "you might want to signal in advance before turning," he said to Maggie.

"Yes sir."

They were doing well, but soon had to stop at a level crossing. Henry roared past with a slow goods and although he didn't say anything, he did give Maggie a piting look. It made her cross and as a result, she sped up and drove down the wrong road, much to the alarm of her passenger.

"Miss Margaret, stop! Stop!" he cried.

Maggie slowed down and pulled safely off the road.

"Why did you just do that?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that Henry got me cross. He and a few others all say that I should give up driving, and when I hear or see that, it makes me angry."

"Well I guess I can understand that, I had a simular problem when I was younger. That being said, I want you to keep your temper in control or else you might cause an accident."

Maggie sighed again as she turned the car around and went back.

"Do you think I should give up driving sir?"

"Not at all," he answered. "Just keep practising and you'll get better."

Maggie smiled, but then slammed on the brakes, "Blimey, look at that!" she exclaimed.

Coming down the road in a mad dash was a speeding car with at least five police cars racing along behind it. They whoosed by Maggie and the instructor, then disappeared into the distance.

"I wonder what that was about."

"Oh never mind that," said the instructor. "Let's just focus on your driving."

"Yes sir," she said and pulled onto the open road again.

They drove along the same route they took, but it wasn't long before they heard sirens behind them. The instructor checked the speed and saw that Maggie was going the correct speed. He looked back and saw the car that passed them before with now seven police cars was behind them.

"Alright Miss Margaret, pull over and let them pass," he said.

Maggie looked in the mirror, as she been instructed before and saw a familar smirking face in the driver's seat. Instead of pulling off the road, she swirved and nearly fell into the ditch on the other side of the road.

"No don't drive there! I said pull over, not..."

CRASH!

Maggie and the instructor looked and saw that the car had crashed into the ditch on the other side of the road. The Driver had wanted to rear-end Maggie and had sped up to hit her. Thanks to her going a different way, the other driver ended up going out of control and hitting the ditch.

The instructor was at a loss of words, but the police weren't when they pulled the Driver out, "well Rachel, it looks like your fun run is over," said one of them. "When will you ever learn to stop causing trouble?"

The girl was named Rachel, one of the three daughters of Mason, Mavis' Driver. She likes causing trouble and today, she had been smashing windows before being spotted by the police. She was now cross and muttered rude words under her breath.

An officer went over to speak with Maggie, "good thing you went in a different direction, otherwise you would've been hurt. You sure are lucky."

"Not really sir, I've dealt with her before and I knew she would try to hurt us."

"Well either way, you did good, well done."

Even the instructor said he was pleased with Maggie, once he snapped back to his senses. Rachel was the only one who wasn't pleased, but couldn't say it as the police took her away.

When James heard about the event, he decided to boast to Henry and Billy. "I heard that Maggie's driving stopped that silly Rachel from causing destruction. I'd say that proves that she is becoming a good driver, don't you think so?"

Needless to say, both Henry and Billy were put in their place and remained silent on the subject.


	97. Dreams can Come True

_**Dreams Can Come True**_

_**Special Thanks to D. for the character 'Brian'**_

You all may know Duck the Great Western Engine, but do you know that his Driver has a son named Brian? Brian is a seventeen year old teenager with lots of knowledge of the Great Western ways and is very smart. He also has a big heart and is always willing to do something for a friend in need.

One evening, after finishing his work at the Sodor Steamworks, Brian was making his way to Crovan's Gate. From there, he would take the stopping passenger train to Knapford and from there, he would take a train to Alresdale, which is where his home is. Usually there were only a few passengers at Crovan's Gate at the late hours.

On this night, he found someone his age standing on the platform with a couple of bags in his hands.

"Hullo there, what brings you out at this time of night?" Brian asked.

The lone figure looked over to Brian with a smile, "oh I'm just out and about getting some books and model trains, and of course to check out all the sights around here. It's really quite beautiful around here."

"I have to agree, it certainly looks beautiful, but it looks much better in the daylight."

The lone figure sighed unhappily as he looked down the tracks. Brian was wondering what was wrong, but before he could ask, Edward arrived with the coaches. Brian went into one coach and the figure went into another. Brian decided to ask his friends next day if they knew this person.

"That would be Sheldon," Edna was saying next day. "He's a model railroader that comes to Crovan's Gate alot to get supplies and whatever he wants. He's a very kind person, but can be easily offended if you say something that would upset him."

Brian was confused, "I didn't say anything wrong, I just said Crovan's Gate looks better in the daylight."

Hearing that caused everyone to look at Brian, "You shouldn't have said that," said Maggie.

"Why?"

"Sheldon can't come out in the daytime," Edna explained. "He has a rare skin condition that makes him turn red when his skin makes contact with sunlight. Light bulbs and night light doesn't bother him, but sunlight can really hurt him."

Now Brian understood, he wished now that he hadn't said those words.

That evening, he arrived at Crovan's Gate and found Sheldon with a couple more bags in his hands.

"I want to apologize for what I said last night," Brian said to Sheldon. "I didn't know you can't come out during the daytime."

"Oh that's okay," smiled Sheldon. "I'm sorry for not telling you last night, but how did you know about my condition?"

Brian told him that his friends at the Steamworks told him earlier that day.

"Oh okay I understand now. Still, it's not that bad to have this condition, it gives me a chance to read my books and work on my Model Railroad layout. The only thing I don't like is that I have to wait till it's dark in order for me to go out," he sighed. "I can't ride that many trains and I can't go to the stores before they close."

Seeing the sad look on Sheldon's face made Brian want to do something for his new friend. Then an idea came into his head.

"Tell me Sheldon, do you know anyone else like you?"

"Oh quite a few people, why do you ask?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Brian answered with a smile on his face. He had a plan, but first, there were some people he needed to talk to.

The next afternoon, he asked the Steamworks manager to ask the Fat Controller, Thin Controller and Small Controller to come to the Steamworks. He did just that and soon all three Controllers arrived.

"Why did you ask for us to come here?" asked the Thin Controller.

"Well I wanted to ask for a bit of a favour."

Brian then explained about Sheldon, his friends and their conditions. "The poor souls can't come out during the day, so they can't ride on most of the main services on your railways or go where they want to go. So what I'm asking is, can you run some trains in the night for them?"

The three Controllers thought it over, then agreed to do it and they also promised to get in contact with owners of some businesses to open their places up for an evening.

It took some time, but soon, all was ready. Brian phoned Sheldon to meet him at the last station on the Small Railway. "Bring you friends too," he added.

Sheldon did as he was asked and soon, they were all at the station.

"Why are we here?" asked one of Sheldon's friends.

"I'm not sure," Sheldon answered. "I'm sure Brian will tell us when he gets here."

It was at that moment that Brian arrived on his bike. "Thanks for coming Sheldon, I promise you and your friends won't regret this decision. You know the last time we spoke, you said you haven't been able to ride many trains or go to many places either."

"Yes that is true."

"Well it got me thinking, what could I do for Sheldon and all his friends? After some thinking, I came with an idea, spoke with all three Controllers and..." he paused and looked won the tracks. A whistle was heard and Vern pulled up with several coaches behind her. "...we're inviting you all the ride on the trains of the Alresdale, North Western and the Skarloey Railway all night tonight."

Sheldon and his friends were surprised, "Are you serious?" asked another one of Sheldon's friends.

"I am and that's not all, alot of businesses are open all night for all of you, so you won't have to rush while shopping."

"You really did this for all of us?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes I did," Brian nodded.

"Well thank you Brian, this is so kind of you."

"Oh don't thank me alone, the Controllers, staff and engines deserve 'thanks you' as well for making this evening possible."

Once Vern had been turned around and coupled up, her excited passengers boarded the coaches and they set off into the beautiful star-filled night.

Many of the passengers had cameras, so they took pictures of the scenery and of Vern at each station stop. They had a splendid time, but the fun wasn't over. At the Wharf, they met up with Duck, who was waiting for them.

"All Aboard for Knapford!" he called to the excited passengers. Then he whispered to Brian, "this was a good idea you came up with, you're a boy after my own heart."

"Thanks Duck," Brian smiled.

Duck took the passengers to Knapford where Henry was waiting. He was tired after a long day's work, but was happy to take the passengers. On the way to Crovan's Gate, they passed North Western Star with a late night express, BoCo with China Clay trucks and Vincent with stone trucks. At Crovan's Gate, they found Skarloey and Sakura waiting with the old coaches. Both engines were pleased to do this and so were the coaches, not one of them complained.

Skarloey and Sakura took them into the high hills, where they took more photographs and to have a chance to speak with Rusty and Mr Hugh about the work they do on the railway. They really enjoyed that part and one of Sheldon's young friends said;

"If I could work out here outside, I would like to work with you and Rusty."

"Well maybe when you're older, you can help us on the night shift," Mr Hugh said kindly to the young person. "We're always looking for more help there."

After that stop, they went to the Wharf where Jasmine and Sir Handel were working with Colin the Crane. They watched the shunting, then returned to the station at Crovan's Gate where Edward was waiting for them. They boarded the coaches and departed for the Ffarquhar Branch line. Thomas was waiting at the junction with Annie and Clarabel.

He took the passengers to the harbour where Percy was working. From there, Toby took them down to the quarry to show off what goes on there. It was certainly an educational experience. The same could be said for the China clay works when they went to see Bill and Ben work. As expected, the twins tried to show off, but their crews and the foreman kept them in check.

The passengers had a wonderful night and were smiling when they returned to Knapford.

"Thank you for all you have done," they said to the staff, Controllers and the engines. "We'll never forget this night. We have a wonderful time."

Sheldon spoke to Brian, "I just have to thank you again Brian, you helped bring all our dreams to life. I don't know how we'll be able to repay you."

"How about just calling me a friend, will that do?" he asked while holding out his hand.

Sheldon smiled and shook his hand, "that'll do just fine, my friend."

Later on, after all of the excited passengers had gone home, Brian returned to his house and went off to sleep. All the while, smiling for having made alot of dreams come true.

**Author's Note:**

This story was deeply inspired by what the crew of the 'Exterme Makeover: Home Edition' team for several kids with the rare skin condition described in the story by taking them to Disneyworld.


	98. Be Nice!

_**Be Nice!**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for the Character 'Camille'**_

None of the steam engines enjoy going to the Dieselworks. They sometimes get unfriendly welcomes by the diesels, but it's not as bad as some of the workers that work there.

One day, James arrived at the Dieselworks, hauling a sorry looking Norman behind him.

"What are you doing with our diesel, red kettle?" asked an angry voice.

James looked and found that the voice belonged to a young female worker. This person was Camille, the young daughter of Diesel's Driver. She works at the Dieselworks, and like her father's engine, she hated the steam engines and anyone who liked them.

"Your diesel here broke down and I was told to bring him here," James answered.

Camille spat at the ground, "a likely story, I don't believe you." She then showed something that she had hidden behind her back, it was a gas axe.

"You wouldn't," gasped James. "I'm North Western property."

"I don't care if you are, I would cut you up. No steamers allowed in the Dieselworks, now get out of here! Or else I will use this on you!"

James and his crew didn't need telling twice, they were uncoupled from Norman, then they puffed quickly away. What they didn't know was that the gas axe was broken and could not be used.

"Stupid steamers," grumbled Camille. She threw away the gas axe, then went to work on Norman.

Over the next few days, workloads at the Dieselworks decreased and many of the employees found themselves doing either odd jobs or nothing at all.

One morning, the Dieselworks manager came out to speak with Camille.

"As you know, there's very little work to do around here right now, and since I can't have you sitting around here doing nothing, I'm going to send you to work somewhere else."

"And where are you going to send me sir?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Steamworks."

Camille's jaw dropped wide open, "The steamworks?!" she exclaimed. "You can't be serious sir."

"I am serious. They need help over there and since you're not busy, you will go there and help them."

"The only reason I would go to the Steamworks is to scrap those steaming kettles, otherwise I'm not going!" she huffed.

The Dieselworks manager stared firmly at her, "well then let me put it in a different way, you're going there to work, or you're fired. It's your choice."

Camille was shocked. She didn't want to lose her job, but she also didn't want to go to the Steamworks. In the end though, she agreed to go.

"Good girl," said the manager. "You can go with Sidney as he takes some trucks there."

A little later, Sidney arrived at the Steamworks, "Hello there my friend," called Victor. "What bring you here? We don't normally repair diesel engines here."

"Oh I don't need fixing Victor, I'm dropping off some trucks for you...and I brought _her_ along with me."

"Her?" Victor looked to the cab and saw a forelong looking Camille stepping out.

Maggie was shocked, "of all the workers they could've sent, they had to send you didn't they?"

"Hey, I don't like it either Margret," she said rudely. "I rather be in the company of diesels, not stupid steaming kettles and you losers."

Sidney looked to Victor, "good luck with her." And with a toot of his horn, he was gone.

Victor rolled his eyes and looked down to Camille. "We do appearcite you coming here to help us, but I do have to ask you to be nice while you're here and please don't cause trouble."

"Whatever," huffed Camille.

She went off to work on some of the trucks that needed work. Edna was close by with Kevin the Crane. "Oh so it's you huh? Well do your work please and no nonsense."

Camille just snorted and payed no attention to Edna.

As the day wore on, Camille got crosser and crosser. Mostly because when any steam engine came into the Steamworks, they would make fun of her, saying how the mighty have fallen. Some engines though, like James, would be very rude to her.

"You're all driving my patience to the limit right now," she snapped.

"Be nice Camille," snickered the Cattle trucks. "Or else you'll be fired from your job."

"You be quiet!" snapped Camille again. "Or I'll give you a piece of my mind!"

The trucks just laughed, which made Camille crosser still. It was then she noticed that Kevin was sleeping. His operator was having lunch outside and Kevin was having a little nap before going back to work.

"That'll work," Camille thought to herself.

She snuck over to Kevin, then turned on his motor.

"Oh," Kevin yawned. "Is it time to work again?"

There was no answer, but he did feel himself moving. Instead of going to pick up a crate, he ran over to the line of cattle trucks and started to push them.

"Oh no, what is she doing now?" asked Edna.

"By the looks of it, she's going to make Kevin push those trucks into the sidetable well," said Maggie in shock.

Maggie was right, as the cattle trucks found out in horror. "Hey stop! Stop! Help!" cried the trucks.

There was an ear shattering crash as three of the trucks fell into the sidetable well. Worst still, the accident occured when Stanley the Silver Tank Engine was on the table. He was suppose to go in for an inspection, but now he was stuck.

"Maybe now you'll learn from this, stupid cattle trucks!" shouted Camille and waved her fist at them.

Edna was shocked. Maggie looked to her, "and you say I'm out of control when I lose my temper."

"What in blazes?" gasped Victor.

"I'm sorry boss, but it wasn't my fault," groaned Kevin. "Camille was driving me."

Victor groaned, "I should've guessed."

"But I'll help clean up the mess, once my operator returns."

Kevin was true to his word, he cleaned up the mess in no time at all, and Stanley was able to come in. Victor and the Steamworks manager spoke sternly to Camille.

"I told you to be nice and to stay out of trouble," Victor said firmly. "But you let your emotions get the better of you."

"We asked for help," added the Steamworks manager, "not for careless workers. You will go back to the Dieselworks tonight when Paxton comes, and I will be telling your manager of what you did."

Camille didn't look ashamed, "after the rotten time I've had here, I'm more than glad to be going back."

Later that night, the Steamworks was completely dark. Something had gone wrong at the power plant and all the power around Sodor was out. Camille was waiting outside the Steamworks with a battery operated torch, waiting for Paxton to arrive.

"Bother that Paxton, he shouldn't make me wait this long."

At that moment, she saw, very faintly, Rusty come in with an engine, "his siderods snapped earlier, can you replace them so he won't miss his late night train?"

"Well..." Camille thought about it. "I guess so, bring him in," she decided at last.

Rusty shunted the engine into the works, then backed away. Using her torch, she found a siderod and some tools.

"This should take me only five minutes," she thought to herself.

And she was right, within five minutes, the engine had new siderods on.

"Thank you my dear," said the engine. "At least I won't be late tonight."

The crew climbed back into the cab, then drove the engine away. Just as it got outside, the lights came back on, revealing that the engine was Skarloey.

"Well, this is new," said a voice. Camille turned and saw Maggie and Victor looking at her, "I never knew you liked steam engines."

"I don't," she snapped.

"You could've fooled me with the way you helped Skarloey, without complaining I should add," Maggie added with raised eyebrow.

Camille snorted, "the only reason I did it was because..." but then, she stopped. Maggie and Victor waited with raised eyebrows.

HONK! HONK! They all looked outside to see Paxton arrive. "So long Losers," and Camille ran off towards the dark green diesel shunter.

"She does have a soft side," smirked Maggie. "Did you think she ever had one Victor?"

"Oh I had a feeling she did," he answered. "It's just hidden under that gruff exterior."

Although she never did admit it, Camille did want to help Skarloey. She knew that a train cannot be delayed, that was her reason for doing what she did. Maybe she does have a good side to her, just don't ask her if she agrees, cause you'll get no answer from her.


	99. Even the Bad Can Be Good

**Before we begin, I would like to thank all of you for being so patient with me. I know you've been asking me for some new Thomas stories and now, I'm proud to present the latest episodes. Also note that I redid the 'Toby's Megatrain' story from Season 3. Last thing I will say is that Rachel, Vyrpa and Asuna are all characters created by D.J. Scales and used with his permission. Anyhow, enjoy! :)**

_**Even the Bad Can Be Good**_

Rachel spent several days in jail before finally being bailed out by her father. They were quiet on the way home, but she did get a scolding, along with her sisters; Vypra and Asuna.

"I am really getting tired of this," he was saying. "Every week so so, one of you or all of you get into trouble and we have to bail you out. I'm getting sick of it."

"Where is mom?" Vypra asked.

Her father stared coldly at her, which silenced her at once.

"You mother doesn't want to see you, she is really mad at you," he paused and took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "Listen to me this time, if you cause trouble one more time and you get arrested again, we will not bail you out. Maybe some time in a cell will do you three a world of good."

He turned and walked off back to his room.

"He'd never do that," snickered Rachel. "They love us too much to leave us in jail."

But Asuna wasn't so sure, "he might be serious though and if mom isn't talking to us, she's probably serious too."

All three girls didn't like the idea of spending their lives behind bars, so they agreed to be as nice as they could be to avoid that.

The next day was a Saturday, they had been given a list by their mother, who was still angry at them, so they could get the groceries. "Nothing to it," boasted Vypra. "It's just grocery shopping."

They were just getting to the Ffarquhar grocery store when suddenly they heard an alarm from the nearby bank. Then the three girls saw a masked figure run past them with a big bag full of stolen money. Vypra saw some kind of mark on the person's left arm, but couldn't make it out as he ran quickly away.

"What was that about?" asked Asuna.

Someone shouted; "arrest them, they robbed the bank!" All eyes peered at the girls.

"We didn't rob anything, a masked person did and he's running off with the money."

"And he had a strange mark on his arm too," added Vypra.

"A likely story," said another voice. "You three always like causing trouble. You would fib to get out of your own mess, but we don't believe you."

Everyone started shouting in agreement to that. Rachel, Vypra and Asuna tried to defend themselves but it was no use, everyone believed it was them. A police officer arrived to prevent the situation from getting out of control.

"While it's true these three like to cause trouble, we have no way of knowing they robbed the bank."

"They were here," shouted another voice. "We've all seen them here!"

"Maybe so, but did you actually see them rob the bank?" There was a long silence. "We will be investigating this case and we will discover who did this. If it was these three, then we will take them down to the police station."

"Arrest them now!" And the arguing started again.

The officer told the girls they could leave, but they would keep an eye on them. The girls walked away, feeling insulted and wrongly accused.

"We've never robbed a bank before and we wouldn't do it now," said Rachel.

"Perhaps, but I don't think anyone is going to believe us," sighed Vypra.

She was right, nobody believed they were innocent, not even their own parents. When they got back to the house, their parents had heard the story and they didn't believe their own daughters.

"It's not fair," grumbled Rachel. "They're all judging us without listening to our story."

"Well if nobody is going to believe us, we're going have to solve this case ourselves," said Asuna.

But that was easier said than done as they didn't have very much to go on. Everyone else wasn't helping by being rude to them. Even a few of the branch line engines were rude to them.

"You might as well confess and turn yourselves in," Thomas said to them. "It's better than having the police waste their time."

But Emily and Toby believed the three girls, "I've seen quite a few shady characters on my train," Toby was saying to them. "Maybe I've seen the person you're looking for."

"What did this person look like?" Emily asked.

Vypra thought back to what she saw and after almost a minute, she said; "it was a dragon. A Red dragon tattoo was on his left arm."

"I've seen that person," said Toby. "He was on my train on the day the bank was robbed."

"If you want our advice," Emily pointed out, "you should report this bit of infomation to the police."

As much as the girls didn't like the engines, they did think it was a good idea, at first.

In the town though, they began to think differently. "The police won't believe us, nobody else does anyways, apart from those two steamers," pointed out Asuna. "If anything, we walk into that station, they'll arrest us on the spot."

"So what do you suggest?" asked Rachel. "We catch this guy?"

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," said Vypra. "We know enough tricks and I'm sure we can catch this guy in the act and take _him_ to jail. Besides, the worse that could happen is that he gets away and we go to jail instead."

In the end, they all agreed to the idea and began planning.

Night soon came, the girls waited outside one of the busiest shops in town and with items that would help them. For a while though, nobody came by.

"What makes you think he'll show up here?" Asuna asked Rachel. "For all we know, he could be on the Mainland by now."

Rachel was about to respond when Vyrpra told them to hush up, "he's here," she whispered.

Her two sisters looked as best as they could. Sure enough, it was a masked man with a red dragon tattoo on his left arm. "That's him alright, that's the guy we saw before."

"Okay girls, you know what to do," whispered Rachel.

Asuna went to the back way with a bucket full of greese, while Rachel waited with a rubbish can lid. Vypra had on her father's big boots on and a flashlight to make it look like an officer was walking past, forcing the man to go out the back.

The man's work was soon done and was about to leave when he noticed the flashlight and the pounding of boots.

"Can't go that way, I'll use the back," he said out loud.

He ran to the back, opened the door and slid on Asuna's greese. He skidded along until he ran into Rachel's rubbish can lid and fell to the ground.

"Ow!" he groaned.

Using old rope, they tied up his hands and took him to the police station. The officers gasped at what came in.

"This is the guy who robbed the bank," said Asuna. "Not us."

One officer came forward, "I remember you now, you're that burglar that London police are looking for," he said. "You're famous for robbing banks and for your infamous dragon tattoo."

The mask was removed, revealing a confused look on his face.

"I've escaped from dozens of police officers in the past and yet I was taken down by three girls?"

"And don't you forget it," Rachel said rudely.

For his crimes on the Mainland and at Ffarquhar, the man was sentenced to five years behind bars. The people of Ffarquhar told the three girls they were sorry for being rude and their parents said they were proud of them for once.

"I just can't believe it," Thomas said to the other engines one evening. "Not only are those three girls innocent, but they also caught the real burglar, I must be having a nightmare."

"It's not a nightmare Thomas," said Percy. "This is for real."

"You can't always judge someone just on past experiences," Toby said wisely to them. "Cause maybe they were right and will prove you wrong."

Rachel, Vypra and Asuna still like to cause trouble, because it's who they are, but when someone else decides to cause trouble in their town, they will do what it takes to stop them.


	100. Niki the Jubilee Engine

_**Niki the Jubilee Engine**_

"She's coming back! She's coming back!" Charlie was shouting to the other engines at Tidmouth. "Please spread the word, she's coming back!"

"We can't spread the word when we don't know who 'she' is," grumbled James.

"What are you talking about Charlie?" asked North Western Star.

Charlie stopped on the turntable and took in a few deep breaths before speaking again. "My Driver was talking with the Fat Controller and he said that the Queen of England is returning to Sodor this year."

The engines were thrilled to hear this, it had been some time since the Queen came.

"It's all part of her 60th anniversary Diamond Jubilee tour," Charlie continued. "The Fat Controller right now is deciding on who should take the train."

The engines all started talking about who would pull the train.

"Shame Gordon is still in America, he's going to miss this event," remarked James. Then he smirked, "oh well, that just leaves the special to me."

"I think not James," snapped Henry. "I'm far more reliable than you are, so I'll be picked."

"As long as you don't turn yourself into an iced cake on wheels again."

Henry snorted. Charlie piped up, "what about Niki? She's a Jubilee engine after all, she would be perfect for the job."

But James and Henry didn't hear Charlie, they were arguing on which of the two engines should take the Queen's train.

"Well, ultimately it's up to the Fat Controller," said Star. "We'll just have to wait to find out."

Niki certainly hoped that she would be chosen, "Niki would love to meet the queen," she thought to herself.

It took several days, but the Fat Controller soon made up his mind of who would take the Royal train. He chose Henry and I'm sorry to say that the importance of this job went straight to his funnel, and made him rather boastful.

"Look at me! Look at me!" he called to any engine he passed. "Pride of the line coming through!"

"Sez you," alot of the engines said. Others, like James, just ignored him.

One evening, Charlie came back to the big engine sheds, feeling miserable, "that Henry is so bossy," he grumbled. "Stafford's busy and Henry orders me to fetch his coaches for him. I said 'no' as I had a train to run, but he went on and on about how 'important' engines can't be kept waiting. To finally shut him up, I got his coaches, but it made me late with my train."

"Niki wouldn't act like that," said Billy, who was taking on water. "She's a sensible engine."

"Quite right Billy. She should've been given the train and not..."

But he was drowned out as Henry arrived, whistling loudly.

"Important engines should not have to wait outside their own shed, so move off that turntable now!" he barked at Charlie.

Not wanting to get into another argument, Charlie backed into his berth and Henry puffed proudly onto the turntable.

"I can agree with both of you," Duck whispered to Charlie. "But I don't think Niki minds, I think she's just happy to be meeting the Queen. Just look over to where she is."

The three tank engines looked and saw Niki shunting her trucks without grumbling or complaining."

"There's a reason I was chosen," boasted Henry. "It's because I'm..."

"Most important," interupted Charlie angerily. "We know Henry, you've been saying that ever since you got the job. Now be quiet and let the rest of us sleep."

But Henry ignored Charlie and went on boasting throughout the night.

At last, the big day arrived. The stations had been decorated and people were gathering by the lineside to see the Queen's train. Henry's paint was gleaming in the sunlight as he pulled the special coaches along the line.

"I'm looking forward to telling Gordon this when he gets back," he thought happily to himself. "That'll be one in the headlamp for him."

Henry felt proud. But he hadn't noticed that something had come loose...

He arrived at the big station at the end of the line where the diesel from the Other Railway was waiting with the Queen. The red carpet was rolled out and she walked along it to one of her carriages. Several other people who came with the Queen got on board as well, then Henry set off for Knapford.

All went well, the rails hummed under the wheels and Henry had a good head of steam. He even began humming a tune. Then they came to Gordon's hill.

"Steady old boy," cautioned his Driver. "We need to take this hill at a good speed."

Henry took note of that and made a good effort. Then it happened. There was a crashing clatter sound coming from under Henry and his steam dropped. Henry tried hard to keep the train rolling, but soon came to a complete stop. Before the crew could do anything else, they found themselves sliding back down the hill. The Driver applied the brakes gently and stopped the train at the bottom of the hill.

"What happened?" Henry asked in shock.

The Queen was wondering the same thing. The Guard said he would look into the matter for her. Meanwhile, the crew were inspecting Henry's underside. It didn't take long to find the problem.

"Ah huh, there's your answer. Your firebars collapsed and you lost a good portion of your fire. They must have come loose during the journey, I say that's your day's work done. We'll need another engine to take the Queen and her train."

"Oh joy," grumbled Henry.

His fireman dealt with what was left of the fire while the Driver used his mobile phone to call for help.

"Henry's lost his firebars and can't pull the train anymore, can you send help?"

"We'll send help as soon as we can, don't go away," came the reply.

"Oh funny, very funny," muttered Henry sarcastically.

The only engine available and close by was Niki. She was getting ready to leave with her train of trucks when the works manager came running up to her.

"Leave that train please Niki. Henry's failed and the Royal train needs an engine."

"But what of Niki's trucks? Niki can't just leave them."

"I'll send another engine to get them and I'll inform the Fat Controller. Now please hurry, the Queen's train can't be kept waiting."

So Niki was uncoupled from the trucks and headed off to the rescue. She soon found Henry at the bottom of Gordon's hill, still sulking. Niki buffered up to the tail end of the train and pushed it and Henry with all her might, but she was careful not to give the Queen an uncomfortable ride. It wasn't easy, but soon they got over the top of the hill and rolled down the other side safely.

Bill and Ben were waiting to see the Royal train, but were surprised to see Henry being pushed in by Niki. They both started to laugh at him.

"So much for being an important engine," teased Bill.

"You can't be important if you have to be shunted," added Ben.

They laughed loud and long, even when Niki shunted Henry out of the way. They stopped though when Niki backed onto the Royal train.

"You can do it Niki, you're a Royal Jubilee engine now!"

Niki gave off a cheerful toot on her whistle, then she puffed back to the Big Station. Leaving Henry alone with the twins.

At the big station, everyone was waiting for the Royal train to arrive.

"I hope everything is okay," said Oliver. "I wonder if they were able to find another engine to pull the train after that silly Henry lost his firebars."

Then they all heard a whistle in the distance, they knew who it was.

"I think everything is under control," smiled North Western Star.

Niki puffed proudly into the station and came to a smooth stop. The guard opened the door and out stepped the Queen. The Fat Controller removed his top hat and apologized for the delay, but the Queen was smiling.

"I wish to speak with the engine who brought me here."

The Fat Controller lead her to the front. Niki was surprised and was lost for words. However, she did speak, "hello your majesty, Niki's name is Niki."

"Well I'm very pleased to meet you Niki, and I want to thank you for your services today. Even though it meant leaving your other job, you still came to the rescue. I think that is the act of a very helpful and reliable engine."

"Oh, thank you your majesty."

The Queen spoke with all the other engines. Many of which she had met before and many she was meeting for the first time. She also spoke with the people. Everyone had a wonderful time.

"I must say Sir Topham Hatt," she said to the Fat Controller. "You have a very nice fleet of engines, you must be proud of them."

"Indeed I am your majesty."

Then the Queen asked if Niki could take her back to the Other Railway. The Fat Controller happily nodded. Charlie whispered to Niki, "I knew you were the perfect engine for the job Niki."

Once the Queen was on board, Niki set off to a chrous of cheers, horns and whistles. Niki couldn't have felt more proud than she was at this moment.

What about Henry though? Well Bill and Ben took him to the Steamworks to be repaired. He watched on enviously as Niki ratted past.

"Ugh! Next time, I'll keep my big mouth shut. The others are never going to let me hear the end of this."


	101. The Grim Reaper of Diesels

Well after much hard work and finally getting the time to work on the stories, I am proud to present the completed six episodes for the fourth 'International' Engines season of Thomas & Friends-The Untold Stories. I chose that title as it sounds better. Anyways, the first three stories are about a character introduced to me by D.J. Scales, but this character is not like any you have ever seen before. Also, Gordon finally returns home after his runs in America. Season 4 is now complete and Season 5 is in the works. Season 5 will not feature any new characters, except for one time, but that will have to wait.

_**The Grim Reaper of Diesels**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scale for the ideas and Character**_

While passenger service on the North Western was doing quite well, the goods services were starting to increase and really taking it's toll on the goods engines, even Murdoch was feeling the strain.

"I don't know where all these goods are coming from, but if the services don't slow down, I could fail on the main line."

"But you were built for heavy goods work Murdoch," said Charlie.

"Even so, engines like us tire out with extra work and heavy loads. It's my own opinion, but I think we need another engine," said Neville.

Murdoch groaned and rolled his eyes, "as long as the next engine isn't snobbish and out to prove themselves, then I'm all for the idea."

"But where is this other engine going to come from?" Charlie asked.

"Oh I'm sure we'll find out in no time," Neville smirked. "The Fat Controller always seems to find them in all kinds of places."

And Neville was right. The Fat Controller knew of the increase in goods work and had already purchased another engine from another country.

"I hope this one fits in well with all my engines," he thought to himself.

After several days, the main line engines at Tidmouth awoke to find the Fat Controller with another engine. It was a big black steam engine with white trim and 10 red driving wheels, it also had a new number under it's cab window '91'.

"Engines, I would like to introduce you to Khosbayar. He worked on a heritage railway in Russia, but now he's going to help with the heavy goods work."

"Parden me sir," interupted the engine as kindly as he could, "but can you please call me 'Basher' instead? I prefer going by that name."

"Oh very well then, Basher it will be," he then turned to the other engines. "I hope you will all treat him with great respect and help him if he ever needs help. And I better not hear of any insults aganist him either," he eyed James and Henry firmly, then he turned to leave.

Basher looked all around him and sighed happily, "This is just like the old days."

"You mean in the days of steam?" Billy asked curiously.

"Yes indeed, back when yards, stations and sheds used to have steam locomotives as far as the eye could see. Those were the days and I never thought I would get to see this on a railway that's not a heritage line. I feel honored to be here and to be hauling goods trains."

"Sure you will be," James grunted, but was hushed by Henry and Star.

"Nah it's okay, I can understand what your friend is feeling," Basher smiled. "And you don't need to worry, I have no intensions of pulling passenger trains, I rather pull goods trains."

"Well in that case, you're going to love working with Murdoch and Neville," said Henry. "They work with goods almost all the time."

Just then, the yard foreman arrived.

"You're needed at the Tidmouth shunting yards, Murdoch will tell you of what you need to do."

Basher roared into life, clouds of smoke and steam shooting everywhere, "Consider me there!"

He backed off the turntable and puffed away, leaving everyone in the yards and sheds speechless.

Soon Basher arrived at the yards. There were trucks as far as the eyes could see, he loved it. He closed his eyes and dreamed back to the days when steam ruled the rails. This truely felt like a dream come true for him.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in front of a big orange steam engine.

"You must be Murdoch, I've been sent to help with these goods trains."

"I'm glad to hear that and yes I am Murdoch," replied the big engine. "Alot of these trucks need to go to Vicarstown, but be careful, when loaded, they can be troublesome."

Basher just smiled, "I've dealt with all kind of tricks from all sorts of trucks, so I think I'll be able to handle them."

Murdoch then told Basher of where Vicarstown was, and puffed away once all was ready. Basher was backed onto his trucks and was coupled up. He was about to leave when he heard a loud purring sound and then a horn. Moments later, Diesel arrived with oil tankers.

"Oh no, not another steamer," he groaned. "Useless waste on this Island."

Most engines ignore Diesel, but not Basher. He went red in the face and stared coldly at Diesel, "You're the useless waste you dumb piece of scrap," he growled. "You have no place in the yards or on the Main line, so why don't you go to a scrapyard and get rid of yourself!"

Diesel was shocked, he had never been spoken to like that be a steamer before.

A guard's whistle blew and Basher puffed away, but not before saying; "I hate you diesel." He disappeared into the distance, leaving Diesel at a loss of words.

Basher's spirit liftened as he puffed threw the countryside and as he pased other steamers. He always greeted them with a cheerful blast of his whistle and told them; "keep up the good work fellow engines!"

Soon he reached Vicarstown where Murdoch was waiting.

"Right on time," he said. ""That will certainly make the Fat Controller very happy."

Before Basher could say anything, the trucks piped up, "he yelled at Diesel, he's no nice engine, he hates diesels!"

Murdoch sighed and rolled his eyes, "Trucks, they always tell tall tales."

"Actually they are right, I don't like the diesels. They nearly sent me off for scrap."

"Well it's not to say that many of us aren't that fond of diesels," admitted Murdoch. "But not all of them are bad mind you."

"I'll only believe that when I see it," sniffed the russian engine.

Just then, the yard foreman came up to speak with Basher's crew. "There's some trucks that need to go to the smelter's yard, would you mind taking them?"

"I don't know, Basher has terrible memories of those places," said his Driver. "We don't want him to get a shocker on his first day."

"No I'll do it," he replied bluntly. "I have to get over it at some point and this is a good chance to start."

With that said, Basher was taken over to the line of trucks. Since he didn't have far to go, he didn't need a brake van, but he would have to push the trucks.

"Let's go Basher," said his Driver and opened the regulator.

Basher had just moved when Murdoch called out to him; "watch out for 'Arry and Bert, they don't take kindly to steamers in their yard!"

But Basher didn't hear him and continued on his way.

"I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble," Murdoch thought to himself.

Basher, like most steam engines, has a fear of the smelters yard, so as you can imagine, he did shake a bit when he entered the yards.

"Be brave Basher, be brave," he told himself.

Then, he heard a diesel horn and his anger returned. 'Arry oiled up to the other end of the train.

"So another steamer has entered our yards, how foolish of you."

Basher growled, "You're the foolish one, now take your trucks so I won't have to see your ugly being again."

"Oi! Who are you calling 'ugly' you stupid steamer?"

"Don't push your luck smelly diesel, say or do anything stupid and I'll show fear the likes of which you've never seen before."

"Oh I'm so scared," 'Arry said sarcastically.

Before Basher's Driver and fireman could even calm him down, Bert arrived with broken down oil tankers. He wasn't watching what he was doing and his tankers crashed into Basher's tender. And it was then that something snapped, but not literally.

"Alright, you made your last mistake you dumb diesel!" he shouted angerily.

He charged forward and before you could ask a question, Basher bumped into 'Arry and pushed him down the tracks.

'Arry's Driver looked back and to his horror, saw they were approaching a brick wall behind some buffers.

"Oh-er, stop! Stop!" he cried, but Basher, full of rage, didn't listen.

At the last possible second, the Driver jumped out of the cab and watched as 'Arry bashed threw the buffers and smash into the wall. Basher's trucks crashed into him and many burst upon impact.

"Grr! That's what happens when you talk or do something stupid in front of me!" Basher growled.

Bert quickly moved out of the way and watched nervously as Basher was uncoupled and steamed away. Then he went to check on his brother.

"You alright 'Arry?"

"Ow! I think so, but what hit me?"

Bert looked back nervously, "I'd say that was the Grim Reaper of Diesels."


	102. Grudge Match

_**Grudge Match**_

_**Special Thanks to D. for Basher and Inspirations**_

It was late in the evening when Bert arrived with the battered up 'Arry. Everyone at the Dieselworks was in shock.

"What happened to you 'Arry?" asked Sidney the Blue Diesel.

"I don't know, I remember talking to someone and the next thing I know, I was off the tracks and all battered up. It all happened so fast," he groaned.

"It was that new steamer," said Bert. "After 'Arry said a few things, he pushed him and made him crash."

Camille, the young Dieselworks worker, was in shock. "Are you sure it was one of those kettles on wheels? Cause I'm sure they would never be able to do that."

"It was that new one I tell you, he's a grim reaper of diesels!"

Camille didn't want to believe it, but the evidance was clear to see.

"Well not to worry 'Arry, we'll have you fixed up in time," said Den. Bert moved away and Den took him inside the shops.

"One thing's for sure, I won't be insulting that engine anytime soon," muttered Bert to himself.

Meanwhile, Basher had just finished his duties for the day and was having a chat with Star and Henry when Billy puffed up.

"Did you lot hear? One of the steam engines sent 'Arry right off the tracks and now he's gone to be mended."

"And where did you hear that?" Henry asked.

"Harvey, he and Rocky had to be sent to put things right."

Now it was North Western Star who was shocked, "I've never heard of an engine doing that before. Who would do such a thing?"

Basher didn't look ashamed at all.

"I don't know, they never told me that part," answered Billy. "But the Fat Controller's now gotten involved and he's looking for the engine responsilbe for the incident."

"I'm sure the engine had it's reasons," said Basher.

"Well that engine's going to be in big trouble once caught."

Later on in the evening, Diesel 10 rattled into the Dieselworks. He had taken a long goods train to the Other Railway and was looking forward to a nice long rest. But he was shocked when he saw the battered up 'Arry.

"What the? 'Arry, what happened to you?"

"I'm not sure, but Bert said I was pushed off the rails by the 'Grim Reaper of Diesels'."

And he told Diesel 10 all Bert had said before he left. When he had finished, Diesel 10 was fuming, "so a steam engine wants to hurt diesels huh? Well we'll see about that." And he snapped his claw wildly above his head, "What did this steam engine look like?"

"He's black with red wheels and he had a sloping tender at the back."

"Right, in that case, I'll deal with him tomorrow."

Diesel 10 reversed into his own shed, only to have the doors slam on him again. They bashed him a few more times before he got in and they closed up completly.

"I hate those doors!" he shouted angerily.

When dawn broke, Diesel 10 set off with trucks for the yard near Tidmouth sheds. He shunted them into place, then looked over to the sheds. Only James and Niki were out.

"Maybe he doesn't live here," he thought to himself. He was about to leave when he saw some shed doors open and out puffed an engine that looked similar to the engine 'Arry described. "Driver, take me over there, I have some business to take care of."

"It'll have to wait," said his Driver. "We do have other jobs to..."

"No, this can not wait!" he snarled. "I have business here and I'm not leaving until it's done."

The Driver sighed and admitted defeat. He took Diesel 10 over to the sheds. What they didn't know was that Camille had come along for the ride. She wanted to give Basher a piece of her mind too.

"Oi you! Are you the steamer that pushed 'Arry off the tracks?" he asked crossly and stopped with feet away from the big steamer.

"Perhaps, now what do you want oily creature?" he snarled.

Before Diesel 10 could even open his mouth, Camille climbed out from the rear cab and walked up firmly to the front.

"Nobody, not even newbies, harms our diesels!" she said angerily. "You have alot of nerve doing that. Now if you want to keep that funnel of yours on, I suggest you stay out of our way."

"Or else Pinchy will get to have a feast," snarled Diesel 10. Pinchy rose and snapped angerily.

Niki and James looked scared, but not Basher. He just wheesed steam at Camille and spoke firmly, "make all the threats you want, they don't scare me. I've heard it all before. But I will make a suggestion, get your ugly selves out of my way, or else there will be two broken diesels."

He said it with so much anger that Camille got scared and backed off.

"No steam engine has ever threatened me and gotten away with it," snarled Diesel 10.

"Just get out of my sight or else you'll be in big trouble."

"Oh shut up your overgrown excuse of a kettle. Objects like you should be in the scrapyards."

Well that did it, Basher's steam preasure rose, an angry snarl appeared and he went red in the face, "that tears it!" And before anyone could do anything, Basher charged forward and started pushing Diesel 10, much to the surprise of the big diesel. Pinchy snapped, but that only made Basher push harder.

Then came trouble. They were heading for a set of trap points, which were used to divert runaways away from the main line. Basher's brakes came on and he stopped, but Diesel 10 rolled over the points, rolling along the ballast, then his Driver had to jump clear as Diesel 10 tilted and fell onto his side.

"Ohh!" he groaned.

Basher let out an angry growl, "and that's the big trouble I was talking about, you good for nothing stupid diesel!"

He then went to the sheds, still growling. Everyone was shocked, even Camille.

Soon, Rocky and Hank arrived to bring Diesel 10 back to the rails. They didn't come alone as the Fat Controller arrived. He did not look happy.

"Basher, I was pleased with your work, but not with your behaviour. You damaged two diesels and people could've gotten hurt."

"I'm sorry sir, I guess I let my emotions get the better of me."

"Well I will except your apology, if you can tell me why you have a grudge aganist the diesels."

Camille and all the other Tidmouth sheds engines listened in.

"Well sir, as you know, I came from another railway, but long before that, I worked alongside the other engines. Small engines, big engines, I worked with them all and even though we weren't all the same, we worked like a team and lived like a family. Oh yes, those were the days."

"But then it changed as the diesels came in to do our jobs. At first, we thought nothing of it, but soon the steamers started disappearing and it wasn't long till I was withdrawn too. We all sat forelongly in the scrap yards and all I heard, apart from the screams from the other steam engines, was the taunting laughter of the diesels. Years of this went on and on and my anger towards them grew. I was saved, but my hatred for the diesels never changed and give me a chance, I'll teach them the true meaning of pain."

The yards went silent after that. Finally the Fat Controller broke the silence.

"Well I guess I can understand your pain, but I can't have you throwing diesels off the main line. I have some diesels here and I don't want to hear that you are responsible for them going to the Dieselworks."

"I can't make any promises sir," Basher sighed quietly.

"In that case, I'll have to leave you in the sheds until I can trust you to behave again."

He turned and left for his office, worrying the entire time. "How can I get him to work alongside the diesels?"

But for you and me, that will have to wait till next time.


	103. Unlikely Friendships

_**Unlikely Friendships**_

_**Special Thanks to D.J. Scales for his Help**_

With Basher locked up in the sheds, the other engines had more work to do. Everyday, they would take one of Basher's trains along with their own and hurried to keep up with the timetable. They were tired after a long day's work. Also, to keep the outbursts from happening again, the Fat Controller asked for all the diesels to stay away from the sheds and yards.

This made things harder for the steam engines and often complained about Basher. It didn't change his views though.

"Diesels are no friends of mine and I refuse to work with any of them."

One evening, the Fat Controller called both Basher's Driver and fireman into his office.

"I understand your engine doesn't like diesels, but this can't keep going on, we need Basher's help with the goods."

"We understand sir," said Basher's Driver. "But asking Basher to be friends with diesels is like asking an elephant to be quiet. It just can't be done."

"What if he met a friendly diesel? Would that help?"

"It might," nodded the fireman. "But the odds of meeting a friendly diesel is slim."

A board grin came to the Fat Controller, "gentlemen, I'd say the odds are better than you think."

The crew wasn't sure what the Fat Controller meant by that, but they were soon to find out.

The next day, the Fat Controller drove to Wellsworth Station and found just the engine he was looking for. BoCo was getting ready to leave with loaded china clay trucks, all were bound for the Other Railway.

"BoCo, I am in need of your assistance. Do you know of our new engine Basher?"

"Yes, isn't he the one that threw 'Arry and Diesel 10 off the tracks?"

"Indeed," the Fat Controller nodded. "Given his history, he's never really met a friendly diesel, but if you were to talk to him like you always do, maybe we can start changing his views."

"Well I'll try my best sir, but what if he throws me off the tracks?"

"You don't have to worry about that, his crew says he only does that when he's really angry. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I hope so sir."

The guard's whistle blew and BoCo rattled away with his goods train.

Later that day, as the sun was setting, BoCo took some trucks for the yard close to the sheds where Basher was. BoCo could see the Russian engine. He didn't look too happy to see BoCo.

"Uh hello there, my name is BoCo, what's yours?" he asked kindly.

Basher growled at him, "Basher." He continued to stare at BoCo, "why are you here? Diesels are not allowed here."

"I was merely asked to shunt trucks and maybe make a new friend."

"Well you better look somewhere else, cause I ain't no friend to diesels."

"Really? Well that's too bad, cause I'm friends with alot of steamers. Edward is one of them and he wouldn't fib if you asked if we were friends."

Still, Basher continued to stare coldly at BoCo.

"You can talk till you're purple in the face, I refuse to believe you," he snarled. "It's thanks to your kind that my brothers, sisters and I were sent to be scrapped. You lot will never know what it's like to face that kind of danger. Now be off with you!"

BoCo shunted the last of his trucks, then rumbled away. But it wouldn't be the last time Basher would see BoCo.

The next day, Basher was allowed out to help with the goods work again. He puffed to the yards, only to discover BoCo on the front of the train.

"What are you doing on the front of my train? I can manage."

"I'm sure you could, but the Fat Controller has asked me to help you today. Besides, it might give us a chance to talk."

Basher growled, "you better be prepared for silence, cause I don't talk to diesels."

Once Basher had backed onto the train, the fireman coupled him up and they departed once the guard had blown his whistle.

The journey was silent at first, but once they were away from the big station, BoCo broke the silence, "Basher, you said last night I don't know what it's like to face danger in the scrapyards and you're right, I don't know. I came here in my early years, but many of my brothers and sisters know of what it's like." He sighed unhappily, "you might not believe me, but all of them, save for one other, were sent to the scrapyards in favor of modern diesels."

"Your class was scrapped?" Basher rasied an eyebeow.

"Sadly yes and my only brother is at a railway centre. Many of the diesels here have had siblings who were scrapped and a few faced that torch before being saved."

"You lie."

"I wish I was, but it's all true. Salty in fact was close to being scrapped, but it was a last minute deal that saved him."

The two engines went silent, then BoCo continued; "I know you've met a fair share of troublesome diesels, but there are more friendlier diesels than bad."

"Like who?" Basher asked in curiousity.

"Well there's Rusty and Dan, they work on the Skarloey Railway and proudly work alongside the other little engines. Mavis and Daisy work on the Ffarquhar line and they are friendly. Then there's Paxton and Norman, they were little troublesome, but they're coming around and becoming friendly engines."

"Dennis is a little lazy," BoCo continued, "but he's friendly. And then there's Sidney, Den and Dart, they work at the Dieselworks and a few other places, they're all friendly."

Just then, they heard a diesel horn and Derek rolled past with loaded stone trucks. He showed a friendly smile and rattled away.

"And that one?" Basher asked.

"Derek is a real friendly engine and is always eager to help."

Along the rest of the way, they met up with other engines, many of which were diesels. The diesels showed off friendly smiles and gave a cheerful toot of their horns at them. Basher didn't say anything nor show a smile, but the more diesels they passed, the more he thought.

They soon reached Vicarstown and BoCo set off back to the yards.

"I hope to see you later Basher," he said to the Russian engine. "I love to stay and chat, but I have china clay trucks to collect."

Basher didn't say anything. After his run and encounters with diesels, he knew he had alot to think about.

At the end of the day, he returned to the sheds for a rest. Henry, James, Star, Niki and Charlie were all in their sheds and sitting next to Basher's berth was BoCo. Basher backed into his berth without saying a word. None of the other engines said a word.

Basher then looked over to BoCo, "uh BoCo is it? I uh...I would like to thank you for your help and for the chat."

"Well you're welcome Basher, I quite enjoyed the conversation."

Basher looked away briefly again, then spoke; "I spoke with some of the other diesels and...and...you were right, and I never thought I'd say that."

"I'm glad to hear you made some new friends."

"Perhaps, but you have to understand how hard it is."

"We all know the feeling," said James. "It took many of us a while to get used to having diesels here, but we soon got used to them and now we're friends with alot of them."

The other steamers all agreed with James.

"Well it's not saying I will change my views over night. I spent years being made fun of by other diesels after all, it will take some time."

"That's alright," said BoCo. "Take as much time as you need."

"Uh thanks BoCo," he said threw gritted teeth.

After that day, Basher was allowed to go back to work. He hasn't had a single outburst, but he's still getting used to diesels. I am happy to say that he has gained a new friend in BoCo. Maybe someday, Basher was learn to be friends with diesels. Only time will tell.


	104. Edward and the Olympic Torch

_**Edward & the Olympic Torch**_

There was great excitement in England. The Olympic games were to be held in London this year and the torch would be coming to Sodor for the first time ever.

"Gordon's probably in a sulk right now," chuckled James. "First he's missed the Queen's Jubilee celebration and now the torch is coming. I hate to be in his wheels right now."

"How could you get into Gordon's wheels?" asked a confused Billy.

"Tis a figure of speech," said Basher. "What James means is that he wouldn't want to be Gordon right now."

Just then, Star arrived at the sheds. "I just heard that a torch train is to be arranged for the torch's arrival," he said. "But at this time, the Fat Controller doesn't know who will pull the train."

James smirked, "well it would need a sensible engine and Henry's not one. After all, this is the engine who lost his firebars while taking the Jubilee train."

Henry snorted and before you knew it, they were aruging again.

"Is this normal around here?" Basher asked Star.

"It's worse when Gordon's here," he whispered back. Basher gulped, he didn't want to think about it.

The next day, the Fat Controller annouced that James would take the train, but told him that if he got too big for his wheels, Basher would take over. James promised to be as good as gold. And he was, right up to the day the torch was to arrive.

At the big station, Stafford had shunted the coaches into place and James was backed onto them gently.

"You are lucky James to be pulling an historic train," Stafford said kindly. "If it wasn't for my battery, I would've loved the chance to take it."

Instead of being rude, James spoke kindly to Stafford.

"Well you should consider yourself lucky too, you'll get to see the torch. Not too many engines can say that."

That made Stafford feel better.

Mr Arkwright, one of the engine Drivers, was to take the torch today as far as Vicarstown. His journey today started with a ride on James' train to Wellsworth, then he would run to Crovan's Gate and ride on Bertie the Bus to the station at the end of the line. He was waiting patiently as Mr Perkins arrived with the torch.

"Enjoy the run Perkins?" Mr Arkwright asked.

"Oh yes and it was a great honor to take the torch," he panted.

He handed the torch over to the Mr Arkwright. He then climbed onto James' train and once secruity and their back-up flame were on board, James set off gently out of the station.

A back-up flame is always carried around, just in case the torch goes out and the secruity was there to make sure no one could put the torch out, as not everyone liked the Olympics.

James made good time and made sure to give everyone a smooth ride.

"Historic torch train coming threw!" he boasted as he passed Henry. Needless to say, Henry was not amuzed.

At last, they reached Wellsworth where a large crowd had gathered. As Mr Arkwright got out, he could see Edward on a siding and looking unhappy.

"Morning Edward, don't you look glum, what's the matter with him Charlie?" he asked the Driver.

"Oh some troublemakers came by and blew Edward's fire out. We were able to catch them, but now we got nothing to light him up again. You wouldn't happen to have a match would you?"

"Sorry Charlie, but I only have the torch." Then he came up with an idea. He turned to secruity, "could we lend a tiny bit of the torch for Edward?"

Secruity talked about it and agreed to do it, just this once. Sid the fireman got out an oily rag and placed it on a steel pole. He held it close to the torch and within seconds, it was lit. The fireman thanked Mr Arkwright, then placed the rag inside the firebox.

Soon, Edward was steaming again.

"Ahh, that feels better," he smiled. "Thank you Mr Arkwright."

"My pleasure Edward, but now I must go or else I'll be late."

He turned and ran to the streets while Edward puffed off to do his work.

At Crovan's Gate, Bertie, Jasmine and Duke were waiting with the large crowds, all eager to see the torch. Finally, Mr Arkwright arrived, tried but proud.

"Bust my boiler," exclaimed Duke. "It's so beautiful." Jasmine agreed with him.

Mr Arkwright got into Bertie and they set off for Vicarstown. They had a smooth ride with no trouble and soon arrived at their destination. A man from the Other Railway was waiting to take the torch to it's next destination. Cheers erupted as Mr Arkwright ran into the station.

"This is the best moment in my life," smiled the diesel from the Other Railway.

All would've been perfect, had it not been for Norman.

The red diesel shunter was shunting at the station, but he wasn't feeling well at all and everyone was going to learn that.

Mr Arkwright was just about to give the flame up when Norman stopped, coughed, chocked and blew out black smoke. The smoke not only blew out the torch, but it blew out the back-up flame too. Everyone was in a state of shock, then they started shouting at Norman.

"You blew out the flame, the games will be cancelled!"

Norman coughed, "it's not my fault that my engine is not maintained properly."

But no one was listening to him, they were cross at him.

One of the secruity guards sighed unhappily. "I guess this means the games will have be to be cancelled, it would take too long to get a replacement flame."

Hearing that, the crowds went into a sad silence. The diesel from the Other Railway stared coldly at Norman, "you disgrace the name of diesel engines."

Norman said nothing, he just coughed and spluttered.

Just then, Edward arrived with a stopping passenger train. He was shocked to see so many sad faces.

"Why is everyone looking sad?" he asked.

"Ask that stupid diesel shunter," said a person in the crowd. Mr Arkwright then explained that Norman broke down and the smoke from him blew out the flames.

"Oh that's a shame," said Edward's fireman, "and I was looking forward to seeing the games this year."

"I think everyone was," sighed the diesel from the Other Railway.

The station went silent, then suddenly Edward remembered, "I have the flame in my firebox!" he exclaimed.

"Of course," said Mr Arkwright, slapping his forehead hard. "I gave Edward a piece of the flame earlier to get him moving again."

Of course, Edward was more than happy to give back the flame, if only to bring the smiles back to everyone's faces. Mr Arkwright held the torch close to the firebox and soon, the torch was lit again. Secruity also got their flame, then Mr Arkwright handed the torch over to the man from the Other Railway. This was the signal for a chrous of cheers from everyone in the station.

"Thank goodness to you and youre firebox," commented the diesel from the Other Railway.

The man with the torch climbed into the coaches, followed by secruity, then the train set off for it's next destination. But the cheers didn't stop there, the crowds cheered for Edward and his crew, nearly raising the roof in the process.

"Oh it was nothing really," said Edward happily. "Any engine would've done the same."

For several days, Edward and his crew were called heroes for saving the games. As a reward, the Fat Controller gave Edward's crew and Mr Arkwright new uniforms while Edward was given a new coat of paint. Everyone was proud of him, but that couldn't be said for Norman.

The Fat Controller knew Norman didn't mean to blow the flame out and he ordered to have him fixed properly. For weeks though, everyone was still blaming him. For Norman's sake, I hope the workers at the Dieselworks fix him good and proper.


	105. Gordon and the Day Out with Thomas Event

_**Gordon & the Day Out with Thomas Event**_

Gordon was enjoying himself on the Strasburg Railroad. He was very popular with the crowds and the engines too and they all wanted to hear exciting adventures from him. His most popular moments though came from pulling the regular Strasburg trains. Gordon would start from the station, going tender first, then at the interchange with the Norfolk Southern, Gordon would go back to the front and pull the train home. It took him a little while to get used to _their_ ways, but once he had done that, he enjoyed himself greatly.

"I have to admit, your line is very beautiful," Gordon told the Strasburg engines, "now I see why so many people come here."

"Well thank you Gordon," smiled Christine, otherwise known as No 475. "Hearing that from you is high praise indeed, but you should see what the railway is like during our Day Out with Thomas events."

Gordon was shocked, "Day out with Thomas events? You mean Thomas is coming here for an event?"

Koyuki chuckled, "no Gordon, Thomas isn't coming. Someone else is playing the role of Thomas for this event."

"But why not get the real engine himself? I mean, it can't be a Day out with Thomas if Thomas himself isn't here."

"True Gordon, but think about it. If Thomas was here, he wouldn't be working on his branch line. Plus don't forget, there are other railways here in the States, Britian and even Canada that have Day Out with Thomas events, Thomas can't go to all of them. It would wear him out and he'd never get to do any work on his branch line."

"Oh yes, I guess that would be true," Gordon said thoughtfully.

"Well the big day starts tomorrow," said Angie, otherwise known as No 90. "So make sure you get some sleep Gordon, you won't be getting that in the morning."

The next day, Gordon could see what Angie was talking about. There were thousands of people at the Strasburg Railroad and with more coming in every minute. There were also tents set up close to the tracks for people to buy Thomas items and on the closest line, Gordon could see a line of coaches.

"Those must be for the engine who's going to play Thomas," he thought to himself.

No sooner had he thought that then he saw an engine that looked like Thomas backing down onto the train. This engine though had a cowcatcher under it's buffers and had visiable cylinders on the outside and an extra siderod.

Gordon was soon steamed up and puffed over to be placed side by side with the 'Thomas' engine. People got out their cameras to take photos.

"Hello there," smiled the engine, "it's nice to meet you at last, I'm Kyle, but during these events, it's best you call me Thomas."

"Of course, we wouldn't want to disappoint the fans," Gordon whispered back.

Kyle the Replica Thomas' first train was at 8:15 P.M. and went half the length of the railway. Gordon wasn't due out till eleven, so he sat close by and watched everyone as they watched Kyle 'Thomas' pull his train to the station.

"He's a friendly one," said Christine. "And it's actually thanks in part to his outings that our railway is able to afford to repair us and restore others like 39 in the shed."

Now Gordon was really impressed. A short time later, Kyle 'Thomas' puffed out of the station in reverse. He whistled to Gordon and puffed on his way.

"Very impressive," said Gordon, then he asked his crew, "how come we don't have Day Out with Thomas events on Sodor?"

His Driver laughed, "people can see Thomas anytime they want, they don't really need a special event for him to come out."

"Oh yes, I forgot," Gordon was embarrassed, but soon smiled as he joined in the fun.

As the days went by, dozens and dozens of people came to the Strasburg Railroad to see both Gordon and Kyle 'Thomas'. They pulled their trains during the day, then they told stories at night. Kyle 'Thomas' knew many of the real Thomas' adventures, so he knew just what to say to the crowds. And Gordon, he didn't tell embarrassing stories about Thomas or himself, it wouldn't have been right to do so. But he did mention his friends on Sodor, including North Western Star.

"I wonder how that Great Westerner is doing with my express anyways," Gordon thought to himself.

All was going well, but then there was the last day's events. The crew arrived to get their engine ready, but found he wasn't steaming properly.

"I feel all stuffed up," Kyle 'Thoms' groaned.

The fireman checked the funnel, "hey, the funnel is cloaked, I thought this was suppose to be cleaned out before this morning's event was to begin."

A lone worker came forward, he was new to the job.

"Sorry, but I was so tired last night that I forgot to clean Thomas' funnel out."

The Driver slapped his forehead, "oh that's just great. Well we'll have to drop the fire and clean the funnel out, it'd be too risky to puff along the line with a blocked funnel. He could spark and then we'd be in trouble."

"But what about the crowds? They all came to see Thomas after all."

"Sorry boy, but we can't risk it. We'll try to get you running for tonight, but the morning's trains will have to be cancelled."

The few people that had arrived early were disappointed and many kids began to cry. Gordon didn't want to see them cry, then an idea came to him, "I'll take Thomas' trains!" he called. "I don't have anything to do till the afternoon after all."

"What a splendid idea Gordon, I'll go check with the manager," said his Driver.

He ran off to find the manager. He returned quite shortly, "manager agrees to let you pull the trains Gordon until 'Thomas' is feeling better."

The crowds cheered loudly. Kyle 'Thomas' smiled and winked at Gordon as if to say 'thank you'.

A 44 Tonner soon removed Kyle 'Thomas' off the train and took him to be cleaned out and Gordon backed down on the train. The Manager came out and spoke to Gordon about his route.

Then as the clock struck eight, Gordon puffed into the station with the eight empty coaches.

A voice came over the PA system, "Thomas is not feeling well right now, but he'll be back later. Till then ladies, gentlemen and children, Gordon the Big Engine will pull his trains for him."

The cheering started up again and many passengers came up to the front to take photos of Gordon. The guard and the crew had to shoo them to the coaches, but not before Gordon shouted; "Express Coming Through!" and blew his whistle, which was met by more cheers.

Thanks to Gordon's idea, people still came in to ride the trains and when Kyle 'Thomas' was feeling better, the two engines did a doubleheader run along the Strasburg's line. It was a wonderful sight and, as you can guess, everyone enjoyed the experience.

At the station, Gordon was uncoupled and Kyle 'Thomas' backed down onto his rightful spot on the train.

"Thanks for helping Gordon," he whispered. "The Day would've been ruined had it not been for you."

"Yes Gordon, you were a big help today," said the manager. "I'll be sure to tell Sir Topham Hatt of how useful you were."

Gordon blushed modestly. Suddenly, a passenger called out; "three cheers for Gordon the Big Engine!" The noise nearly raised the station roof. They were still cheering when the 'All Aboard' call was made and Kyle 'Thomas' puffed out of the station.

Gordon watched them leave, then he looked back to the station and gasped, for who should be standing on the platform but the Fat Controller himself.

"Sir, what brings you here?" Gordon gasped.

"To see you of course," he smiled. "Just because you're away doesn't mean I can't come and check up on my big blue engine."

"I suppose then you heard..."

"I was actually on the first train this morning and I saw everthing, including your suggestion. I knew you'd be a credit to our railway Gordon, I'm very proud of you. When you do return to Sodor, you will be given a brand new coat of paint."

Gordon was delighted.

"But when you do return home, you'll have to join in on a special."

"What sort of special sir?"

"That I can't say for right now," the Fat Controller winked. "You'll have to wait till you get home to find out."

The Fat Controller then turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Gordon in suspense.


	106. The Welcome Back Express

_**The Welcome Back Express**_

Before going to Strasburg, the Fat Controller gathered Henry, Niki and North Western Star at the sheds to speak with them all.

"You have all done me proud since Gordon left for America a few months ago," he began, "although some of you could do better, isn't that right Henry?" Henry blushed, he had to admit that he had been acting foolish.

"In a couple of weeks timing, Gordon will be returning from America and I would like to welcome him back in style."

"What did you have in mind sir?" Star asked.

"A four engine express, that's what," answered the Fat Controller. "Gordon will lead, followed by Star, then Niki and Henry will bring up the rear."

"But sir, you don't need four engines for a five or six coach express," protested Henry.

"I'm aware of that and on that day, extra coaches will be added on to make it look better. Besides Henry, this is to welcome Gordon back and I'm sure he would love the chance to pull this train with you lot regardless."

"Don't worry sir, Niki promises on behalf of all the engines that they won't let you down."

"I'm glad to hear that," smiled the Fat Controller. He then ordered his engines back to work. They left and so did the Fat Controller for the next plane to Pennsylvania.

News soon spread across Sodor about Gordon's homecoming event and of the four engine express. Everyone grew excited, though some engines could not see what was so important about this 'welcome back' train.

"He's just a stupid steamer," said 'Arry, "He's no-one important."

"He's important to us," retorted North Western Star. "He's been working on this railway for many years and is a friend to many of us."

"He's no friend of ours," grumbled Bert. "If he ever came across our path, we would scrap him on the spot."

North Western Star stared coldly at the diesels, "Show more respect you little monsters. Gordon's been here longer than you and he knows more than either of you, and don't you forget it."

"Oh leave them Star," grumbled Basher from close by. "They don't care about anyone but themselves, so you shouldn't go wasting your puff on them."

When 'Arry saw Basher, he backed up in fear. Basher may not bash diesels as much as he used to, but he still scares the troublesome ones.

Star said nothing more and puffed away with his express.

As he puffed along, he was wondering what Gordon would have to say once he arrived, "he and I only started to patch things up after all, he might still have some issues with me."

"Guess we'll find out," said his Driver.

Geoff, the son of Gordon's Driver, returned home early and told everyone about how Gordon saved the 'Day Out with Thomas' event.

"That sounds like Gordon alright," said Edna, "always eager to help out, when he's not boasting of course."

"Well he did no boasting at all, he always managed to put on a great show for the crowds."

"So, is he officially on his way back now?" Maggie asked.

"If I had to guess, he's probably getting ready to leave Strasburg now."

Geoff was correct. After spending months on the Strasburg Railroad, Gordon was ready to return to the main line and head back to the docks he arrived at before. The 44 Tonner was coupled on behind with the coaches coupled between them.

"Well Gordon, it was fun having you here," said Angie. "We hope to see you or one of your Sudrian friends again soon."

"If the Fat Controller can arrange the time, I'm sure one of us will come back," Gordon smiled. "And don't worry, I'll be sure to mention how beautiful your railway is."

"Three cheers for Gordon!"

The crowds and engines all whistled and cheered as Gordon was pulled away. Koyuki smiled at Gordon; "you did great Gordon, see you again soon."

"Good bye my young friend," Gordon smiled and was soon out of sight.

After leaving Strasburg, Gordon travelled much of the main line alone until he reached Music City U.S.A. where he was joined by the second biggest engine he ever saw. A challenger from the Union Pacific, named Michelle.

"Ashley's told me a great deal about you Gordon, I'm looking forward to working with you today."

"I'm looking forward to it as well."

When all was ready, the two engines departed, doubleheading along the line. Gordon didn't even shake in his frames when Michelle blew her whistle, he was getting used to the loudness of the American engine's whistles.

They had a good run and soon they reached the railway where the 'Ghost of the Rails' trio were waiting with many of their friends.

"Engines, Sound Off!" called Chris.

All the engines whistled to him and Gordon and Michelle whistled back.

All too soon though, they arrived at the docks where Gordon had his cowcatcher and bell removed. He was actually sad to see them go. The man in charge of the railtours spoke with Gordon before he got on the ship.

"Just like your brother many years ago, you have done us all proud Gordon. People came by the dozens to see you and to ride with you. Thank you for your services."

"Always glad to be of help Sir."

With the fire now dropped and his tender deattached, Gordon was lifted onto the ship and lowered inside. His tender followed and once they were tied down, they set off back for Britian.

On the day Gordon was to return, Henry, Star and Niki were all polished until they shone in the sunshine. The crews had to admit that they never looked so grand before.

"Now remember Henry," James called in a teasing way. "Don't go too roughly and leave the others to take over for you again."

"Why I ought to..."

"That's enough you two!" snapped Star. "This is no time for you to argue aganist each other. Our good old friend Gordon is coming home today and we can't let see this."

"It is normal, but he should see happy faces," agreed Duck.

James and Henry subsided into silence.

At the big Station, Stafford had arranged a long train ready for the three engines. They would triple-head to Vicarstown, then with Gordon, take the whole train back to Knapford. Henry was backed on first, followed by Niki and finally Star coupled up. Surprisingly, Henry didn't complain about not being in the front.

Crowds gathered to see the train off. The guard's whistle blew and they pulled smoothly out of the station. Needless to say, they put on a great show all the way and with no trouble along the way.

At Vicarstown, they waited for Gordon's arrival. Paxton shunted more coaches onto the tail end of the train and went to join other engines in the sidings. 'Arry and Bert were still grumbling, but Basher's glare silenced them at once.

"Here he comes!" shouted Sidney.

A cloud of smoke and steam could be seen in the distance and soon, a whistle could be heard. Finally, Gordon arrived at Vicarstown, tired but proud.

"Welcome home Gordon!" shouted the engines and saluted him with whistles and horns.

"Oh thank you, thank you," smiled Gordon. Then he noticed the new engine, "Who are you?"

"Call me Basher and I'm sure Star would be more than glad to tell you why I have that name."

The Fat Controller stepped forward, "welcome back Gordon, we are all glad to have you back. We have all missed you, especially James and Henry, they say it's not the same without you. You have done us all proud in America, from rescuing stranded trains and even helping during the Day Out with Thomas event."

"You have to be kidding, that silly..."

"Shut up you two," Basher glared at 'Arry and Bert, who went quiet again.

"Before we give you a full rest in the sheds," continued the Fat Controller, "we have arranged for a welcome home express. You will be joining Star, Niki and Henry on a trip back to Knapford. Show them what you can do Gordon," he winked.

"Of course Sir."

Gordon was coupled up in front and when all the passengers were on board, the train set off.

"I'm not going to hold back today," Gordon said to the others.

"Neither are we," said Star. "Let's do this everyone."

Their wheels turned faster and faster and soon they looked like blurs. Crowds and engines cheered them on as they rattled past. Gordon was pleased by this, "it feels good to be home again," he thought happily to himself.

Along the way, the engines told Gordon of their adventures since he left, even Henry had to tell him about the firebars incident.

All too soon, the journey ended at Knapford where crowds were waiting to photograph and film the four engine express.

"Three cheers," one person said, "To our Sudrian Express engines!"

The noise nearly raised the roof. The Fat Controller, who had been on the train, smiled and patted Gordon's boiler. He didn't need to say anything, Gordon knew what he meant.

And that night, Gordon talked happily with all his friends about Northerns, Challengers and Day Out with Thomas events until they all grew tired and went happily to sleep, dreaming of engines and lands far away.


End file.
